Systems and methods for distributing customized avatars responsive to events

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for customizing avatars responsive to an event are provided. One or more topical categories are selected from a plurality of categories by a user of an application. Within the application, the user is associated with an avatar representing the user. A selection of an electronic communication, received within the application, is made by the user. The communication, describing the event, is classified into a category in the one or more categories. A sticker comprising an altered version of the avatar is formed responsive to the communication selection. The altered avatar comprises one or more visible layers present in the avatar, prior to alteration, and one or more visible layers not present in the avatar, prior to alteration. The sticker is fused with the communication. The sticker is provided to one or more other users using the application.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/573,593 entitled “Systems and Methods for Distributing CustomizedAvatars Responsive to Events,” filed Oct. 17, 2017, which is herebyincorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This relates generally to systems and methods for distributingcustomized avatars responsive to events.

BACKGROUND

Environments that use avatars to represent users typically provideavatar creation tools. Creation of an avatar frequently takes severalsteps and can be quite labor intensive. Moreover, an avatar created inone environment is often limited to that environment. Environment, insuch a context, broadly means any environment where an avatar may bemanifested. For example, an environment may be an avatar creationapplication, video game, social networking website, messagingapplication, smartphone address book, or any other application where auser may want to have a representation.

Despite the apparent inefficiency of creating avatars, invoking amultiplicity of avatars, each representing the same user, serves apractical purpose. As noted by Blackstock et al. in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/979,974, (published as US 2014/0160149 A1 andentitled “System and Method for Adaptable Avatars”) just as in reallife, digital users exist in multiple contexts and may require differentidentities in different environments.

There are tools that, once an avatar is made, enable users to use thesame avatar in multiple environments, such as one disclosed by Mason etal. in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/279,643 (published as US2010/0011422 A1). However, the mechanisms disclosed by Mason et al.,require an avatar to be rendered identically in each environment. WhileBlackstock et al. in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/979,974,attempt to address such shortcomings, the tools for making an avatar fora user and customizing such avatars for such purposes remainunsatisfactory.

Therefore, what is needed in the art is a solution to address at leastsome of these limitations.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure details electronic devices and methods thatprovide faster, more convenient methods for customizing avatars. Withthe disclosed systems and methods for making avatars, improved systemsfor distributing such customized avatars are provided in which avatarsrepresenting individual users responding to contemporary events aredistributed in real time while such contemporary events are stillactively trending in an online community.

For instance, in some embodiments, the disclosed systems and methodsenable a user of an application to select one or more topical categoriesfrom a plurality of categories by a user of an application. Within theapplication, the user is associated with an avatar representing theuser. A selection of an electronic communication, received within theapplication, is made by the user. The communication, describing anevent, is classified into a category in the one or more categories. Asticker comprising an altered version of the avatar is formed responsiveto the communication selection. The altered avatar comprises one or morevisible layers present in the avatar, prior to alteration, and one ormore visible layers not present in the avatar, prior to alteration. Thesticker can be provided to one or more other users using theapplication.

Use of a contemporary event to customize an avatar. One aspect of thepresent disclosure provides a method of customizing a first avatarresponsive to an event. The method comprises, in accordance with anapplication on a first electronic device associated with a first user,where the application includes a first avatar representing the firstuser, the first electronic device comprising one or more processors,memory, and a display, receiving a selection of one or more topicalcategories from an enumerated plurality of topical categories. One ormore topical categories is associated with the first avatar. A selectionof a first electronic communication within the application is received.The selection is made by the first user. The first electroniccommunication is received by the first user in the application. Further,the first electronic communication is classified into a topical categoryin the one or more topical categories and describes the event.

The method continues by forming a sticker comprising an altered versionof the first avatar responsive to the selection of the first electroniccommunication by the first user. The altered version of the first avatarcomprises one or more visible layers that are present in the firstavatar and one or more visible layers that are not present in the firstavatar.

The method continues by providing the sticker to one or more other usersusing the application.

In some embodiments, method further comprises customizing the firstavatar prior to selection of the first electronic communication. In somesuch embodiments, the customizing comprises concurrently displaying thefirst avatar and a first composer graphic on the display. Each differentportion of the first composer graphic provides a different value for afirst trait associated with the first composer graphic. In suchembodiments, the first avatar includes a face comprising a pair of eyes,a nose, and a set of lips, and the customizing further comprisesexecuting a first procedure comprising (i) displaying on the firstavatar the first trait, set at a value associated with a respectiveportion of the first composer graphic selected by the first user withoutuser intervention responsive to the user selection of the respectiveportion of the first composer graphic, (ii) repeating the displaying (i)for each portion of the first composer graphic contacted by the firstuser until a first break in user contact with the first composer graphicis detected, where the repeating occurs at least one time, and (iii)associating the value of the first trait with the first avatar that isassociated with the portion of the first composer graphic that was lastcontacted by the first user when the first break was detected, where theassociating displays on the first avatar the first trait set at thevalue of the first trait associated with the portion of the firstcomposer graphic that was last contacted by the first user when thefirst break was detected. Moreover, responsive to detection of the firstbreak, the first avatar and a second composer graphic are concurrentlyposted on the display. Each different portion of the second composergraphic provides a different value for a second trait associated withthe second composer graphic. In such embodiments, the method furthercomprises executing a second procedure comprising: (i) displaying on thefirst avatar the second trait set at a value associated with arespective portion of the second composer graphic selected by the firstuser without user intervention responsive to the user selection of therespective portion of the second composer graphic, (ii) repeating thedisplaying (i) for each portion of the second composer graphic contactedby the first user until a second break in user contact with the secondcomposer graphic is detected, wherein the repeating occurs at least onetime, and (iii) associating the value of the second trait with the firstavatar that is associated with the portion of the second composergraphic that was last contacted by the first user when the second breakwas detected, wherein the associating displays on the first avatar thesecond trait set at the value of the second trait associated with theportion of the second composer graphic that was last contacted by thefirst user when the second break was detected.

In some embodiments, the first trait or the second trait is one of hairstyle, ear size, skin color, head shape, eye pupil color, eye pupilsize, eye size, rotation of the eyes, height of the eyes on the face,distance between the eyes, ear style, ear size, hair style, hair color,amount of face wrinkles, an amount of cheek indents/dimples, an amountof face pimples, stomach thickness, overall body height, arm length, leglength, foot size, facial hair style, facial hair color, eyebrow length,eyebrow color, eyebrow height, a thickness of eyelashes, an eyelashcolor, an eyelash length, a nose style, a nose size, a height of thenose on the face, a mouth size, a mouth shape, a height of the mouth onthe face, a teeth style, a teeth size, a teeth color, a lip style, a lipsize, a lip color, absence or presence of a facial blush, absence orpresence of an eyeshadow, an eye shadow color, a shirt, a vest, ajacket, a dress, a skirt, a pair of pants, a pair of shorts, a pair ofeye glasses, a hat, a pair of earphones, a necklace, a pair of earrings,a watch, a bracelet, a scarf, or a mask.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises customizing the firstavatar prior to selection of the first electronic communication. Thecustomizing comprises receiving a specification of the gender of thefirst avatar from the first user and including a gender layer on thefirst avatar, from the set of male gender and female gender, responsiveto the specification of gender from the first user.

In some embodiments, the first electronic communication is selected fromamong a plurality of electronic communications by the first user, andeach electronic communication in the plurality of electroniccommunications is associated with a category in the one or more topicalcategories. In some embodiments, each respective communication in theplurality of electronic communications includes a differentcorresponding instance of the altered version of the first avatarcustomized for the respective communication by addition of one or morelayers not present in the first avatar.

In some embodiments, the forming the sticker comprises concurrentlydisplaying the altered version of the first avatar and an emotion slidebar on the display, first user selection of each different portion ofthe emotion slide bar displays a different emotion on the alteredversion of the first avatar from a discrete set of emotions, andresponsive to receiving a user swipe of the emotion slide bar, thedifferent emotion displayed on the altered version of the first avataris changed to the emotion associated with the different portion of theemotion slide bar in which the user swipe ended. In some suchembodiments, the first avatar includes a pair of eyes, a nose, and a setof lips, a pair of eyebrows, a pair of ears, and a body, and eachrespective emotion in the discrete set of emotions specifies at least afirst characteristic position for the set of lips of the first avatarand a second characteristic position for the pair of eyebrows of thefirst avatar.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises providing, at a timeafter the selection of the first electronic communication, a firstaffordance, where selection of the first affordance by the first userdisplays a first tool for selection from a plurality of second avatarsother than the first avatar, and each second avatar in the plurality ofsecond avatars is associated with a different user in a contact list ofthe first user within the application or an enumerated list of avatarsprovided by the application where each avatar in the enumerated list ofavatars represents a different public figure. In some embodiments, thecontact list avatars and public figure avatars are provided in a mergedlist. Responsive to receiving a selection of one or more second avatarsfrom the plurality of second avatars, the method further comprisescompiling the one or more second avatars into the sticker.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises providing, at a timeafter the selection of the first electronic communication, a firstaffordance. Selection of the first affordance by the first user displaysa first tool for annotating the sticker with a first user providedexpression encapsulated in a bubble.

In some alternative embodiments, the method comprises providing, at atime after the selection of the first electronic communication, a firstaffordance and a second affordance, where selection of the firstaffordance by the first user displays a first tool for selection from aplurality of second avatars other than the first avatar, where eachsecond avatar in the plurality of second avatars is associated with adifferent user in a contact list of the first user within theapplication or an enumerated list of avatars provided by the applicationwhere each avatar in the enumerated list of avatars represents adifferent public figure. Responsive to receiving a selection of one ormore second avatars from the plurality of second avatars, the one ormore second avatars from the plurality of avatars is compiled into thesticker. Selection of the second affordance by the first user displays asecond tool for annotating the sticker with a first user providedexpression encapsulated in a bubble. In some such embodiments, thebubble can move along with one of the avatars in the sticker. Since thescene within the sticker is animated in some embodiments, the bubblefollows an anchor point associated with the first or second avatar sothat the bubble always appears in the proper position to the first orsecond avatar in instances where the position of the first or secondavatar moves in accordance with such animation.

In some embodiments, sticker includes a single altered avatar and thebubble moves along with this single avatar in the sticker in instanceswhere the single avatar is animated. Since the scene within the stickeris animated in some embodiments, the bubble follows an anchor pointassociated with the first avatar in such embodiments so that the bubblealways appears in the proper position to the first altered avatar.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises providing, at a timeafter the selection of the first electronic communication, a firstaffordance, where selection of the first affordance by the first userdisplays a first tool for selection from a plurality of second avatarsother than the first avatar. Each second avatar in the plurality ofsecond avatars is associated with a different user in a contact list ofthe first user within the application or an enumerated list of avatarsprovided by the application. Each avatar in the enumerated list ofavatars represents a different public figure and responsive to receivinga selection of one or more second avatars from the plurality of secondavatars. The one or more second avatars are compiled from the pluralityof avatars into the sticker. The forming further comprises concurrentlydisplaying the altered version of the first avatar, the one or moreselected second avatars, and an emotion slide bar on the display. Firstuser selection of each different portion of the emotion slide barprovides a different emotion on the altered version of the first avatarand each second avatar in the one or more second avatars from a discreteset of emotions. Responsive to receiving a user swipe of the emotionslide bar, the emotion displayed on the altered version of the firstavatar and the one or more selected second avatars is changed to theemotion associated with the different portion of the emotion slide barin which the user swipe ended. Moreover, in some embodiments, the usercan replace the first altered avatar, which is representing the firstuser, with a second avatar (from the user's contact list or a publicfigure avatar). As such, in some embodiments the sticker does notinclude an altered avatar representing the first user, but rather,includes one or more avatars from the user's contact list and/or publicfigures.

In some embodiments, the first electronic communication is a newsarticle received from a remote publication source. In some embodiments,the altered version of the first avatar includes a pair of eyes, a pairof eyelids, a set of lips, and a pair of eyebrows, and the alteredversion of the first avatar is rendered dynamic within the sticker byrelative movement of the pair of eyes, the pair of eyelids, the set oflips and the pair of eyebrows with respect to the altered version of thefirst avatar through a repeating pattern of expressions over time. Insome such embodiments, the altered version of the first avatar isrendered dynamic within the sticker by any combination of: varying anamount of facial bone deformation in the altered version of the firstavatar over time, varying a pupil size in the altered version of thefirst avatar over time, varying eyelid position in the altered versionof the first avatar over time, varying an eye size in the alteredversion of the first avatar over time, varying pupil position in thealtered version of the first avatar over time, varying mouth position inthe altered version of the first avatar over time, varying nose positionin the altered version of the first avatar over time, varying earposition in the altered version of the first avatar over time, varying amouth size in the altered version of the first avatar over time, varyinga face perspective in the altered version of the first avatar over time,varying a position of the altered version of the first avatar in thesticker over time, varying a scale of the altered version of the firstavatar in the sticker over time, or moving a body part of the alteredversion of the first avatar in the sticker over time. In some suchembodiments, the altered version of the first avatar is rendered dynamicwithin the sticker by at least moving one or more body parts of thealtered version of the first avatar in the sticker over time, and theone or more body parts is selected from the group consisting of thearms, the feet, the legs, the hands, the neck, or the head of thealtered version of the first avatar. In some embodiments, the scene inthe sticker is rendered dynamic through animated props and/or backgroundelements.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises providing, at a timeafter the selection of the first electronic communication, a firstaffordance. User election of the first affordance displays a first toolfor modifying the sticker. Such modification comprises: adding a quotebubble, provided by the first user, to the sticker using the firstaffordance, associating a sound construct, selected by the first user,to the sticker using the first affordance, adding the avatar of one ormore friends of the first user, and designated by the first user throughthe first affordance, to the sticker, changing the expression on eachavatar in the sticker using the first affordance, adding or removing aprop or background scene to the sticker using the affordance, animatinga prop or background scene in the sticker using the affordance, changingan article of clothing worn by an avatar in the sticker using theaffordance, repositioning or rescaling a layer that includesprops/backgrounds/clothing using the affordance, changing the boneposition of an avatar in the sticker using the first affordance, orchanging a headline of the sticker using the first affordance. In somesuch embodiments, natural language processing of the original selectedfirst electronic communication for which the sticker is being built inreaction to is used to recommend props or background elements for theuser to add to the sticker. In some embodiments, the disclosedmodification comprises, in addition to allowing user adjustment of thebody position/expression of an altered avatar, permitting the user toapply an enumerated animation, selected by the user from a plurality ofenumerated animations independently to each avatar in the sticker (suchas the character walking or jumping). In some such embodiments theplurality of enumerated animations comprises jumping, walking, skipping,hopping, waving, kicking, or stamping a foot. In some embodiments, thesticker includes a sound construct 260 and in some such embodiments theuser can add, edit, or remove the sound construct 260. In some suchembodiments, the sound construct comprises a sound effect, licensedcommercial music, a voiceover (e.g., South Park style remarks), asoundtrack, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, thedisclosed modification comprises: allowing the user to reposition thealtered avatars and/or the props 262 or foreground elements 264 withinthe sticker using the first affordance. In some embodiments, thedisclosed modification comprises: allowing the user to independentlyadjust the Cartesian coordinates, scale, order (on the z axis orthogonalto the plane of the sticker) or rotational orientation of each alteredavatar 258, prop 262, foreground element 264, bubble message 268, orheadline 270 within the sticker 256 using the first affordance or acollection of first affordances.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: adding a quotebubble, provided by an entity other than the application or the firstuser, to the sticker, associating a sound construct, provided by anentity other than the application or the first user, to the sticker, oradding or removing a prop or background scene, provided by an entityother than the application or the first user.

Building an avatar using minimal human intervention. Another aspect ofthe present disclosure provides a method of customizing an avatar,comprising in accordance with an application on a first electronicdevice associated with a first user, the first electronic devicecomprising one or more processors, memory, and a touchscreen display:concurrently displaying a first avatar, representing the first user, anda first composer graphic on the display, where each different portion ofthe first composer graphic provides a different value for a first traitassociated with the first composer graphic. The method comprisesexecuting a first procedure comprising: (i) displaying on the firstavatar the first trait set at a value associated with a respectiveportion of the first composer graphic selected by the first user withoutuser intervention responsive to the user selection of the respectiveportion of the first composer graphic, (ii) repeating the displaying (i)for each portion of the first composer graphic contacted by the firstuser until a first break in user contact with the first composer graphicis detected, wherein the repeating occurs at least one time, and (iii)associating the value of the first trait with the first avatar that isassociated with the portion of the first composer graphic that was lastcontacted by the first user when the first break was detected, whereinthe associating displays on the first avatar the first trait set at thevalue of the first trait associated with the portion of the firstcomposer graphic that was last contacted by the first user when thefirst break was detected. Responsive to detection of the first break,the first avatar and a second composer graphic are concurrentlydisplayed on the display. Each different portion of the second composergraphic provides a different value for a second trait associated withthe second composer graphic.

The method further comprises executing a second procedure comprising:(i) displaying on the first avatar the second trait set at a valueassociated with a respective portion of the second composer graphicselected by the first user without user intervention responsive to theuser selection of the respective portion of the second composer graphic,(ii) repeating the displaying (i) for each portion of the secondcomposer graphic contacted by the first user until a second break inuser contact with the second composer graphic is detected, where therepeating occurs at least one time, and (iii) associating the value ofthe second trait with the first avatar that is associated with theportion of the second composer graphic that was last contacted by thefirst user when the second break was detected. The associating displayson the first avatar the second trait set at the value of the secondtrait associated with the portion of the second composer graphic thatwas last contacted by the first user when the second break was detected.

In some embodiments, the first trait or the second trait is one of hairstyle, ear size, skin color, head shape, eye pupil color, eye pupilsize, eye size, rotation of the eyes, height of the eyes on the face,distance between the eyes, ear style, ear size, hair style, hair color,amount of face wrinkles, an amount of cheek indents/dimples, an amountof face pimples, stomach thickness, overall body height, arm length, leglength, foot size, facial hair style, facial hair color, eyebrow length,eyebrow color, eyebrow height, a thickness of eyelashes, an eyelashcolor, an eyelash length, a nose style, a nose size, a height of thenose on the face, a mouth size, a mouth shape, a height of the mouth onthe face, a teeth style, a teeth size, a teeth color, a lip style, a lipsize, a lip color, absence or presence of a facial blush, absence orpresence of an eyeshadow, an eye shadow color, a shirt, a vest, ajacket, a dress, a skirt, a pair of pants, a pair of shorts, a pair ofeye glasses, a hat, a pair of earphones, a necklace, a pair of earrings,a watch, a bracelet, a scarf, or a mask.

In some embodiments, the method further comprise receiving aspecification of the gender of the first avatar and including a genderlayer on the first avatar from the set of male gender and female genderresponsive to the specification of gender from the first user. Themethod further comprises receiving a selection of one or more topicalcategories from an enumerated plurality of topical categories andassociating the one or more topical categories with the first avatar.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises receiving a selectionof a first electronic communication within the application, where thefirst electronic communication is associated with a topical category inthe one or more topical categories, forming a sticker comprising analtered version of the first avatar responsive to the selection of thefirst electronic communication, where the altered version of the firstavatar comprises one or more visible layers that are present in thefirst avatar and one or more visible layers that are not present in thefirst avatar, and providing the sticker to one or more other users usingthe application.

In some embodiments, the first electronic communication is selected fromamong a plurality of electronic communications by the first user, whereeach electronic communication in the plurality of electroniccommunications is associated with a category in the one or more topicalcategories.

In some embodiments, the forming the sticker comprises concurrentlydisplaying the altered version of the first avatar and an emotion slidebar on the display, first user selection of each different portion ofthe emotion slide bar displays a different emotion on the alteredversion of the first avatar from a discrete set of emotions, andresponsive to receiving a user swipe of the emotion slide bar, thedifferent emotion displayed on the altered version of the first avataris changed to the emotion associated with the different portion of theemotion slide bar in which the user swipe ended. In some suchembodiments, the altered version of the first avatar includes a pair ofeyes, a pair of eyelids, a set of lips, and a pair of eyebrows, and eachrespective emotion in the discrete set of emotions specifies at least afirst characteristic position for the set of lips of the first avatarand a second characteristic position for the pair of eyebrows of thefirst avatar.

In some embodiments, the altered version of the first avatar includes apair of eyes, a pair of eyelids, a set of lips, and a pair of eyebrows,and the altered version of the first avatar is rendered dynamic withinthe sticker by relative movement of the pair of eyes, the pair ofeyelids, the set of lips and the pair of eyebrows with respect to thealtered version of the first avatar through a repeating pattern ofexpressions over time.

In some embodiments, the altered version of the first avatar is rendereddynamic within the sticker by any combination of: varying an amount offacial bone deformation, varying a pupil size, varying eyelid position,varying an eye size, varying pupil position, varying mouth position,varying nose position, varying ear position, varying a mouth size, orvarying a face perspective in the altered version of the first avatarover time.

In some embodiments, the altered version of the first avatar is rendereddynamic within the sticker by any combination of: varying a position ofthe avatar in the sticker over time, varying a scale of the alteredversion of the first avatar in the sticker over time, moving a body partof the altered version of the first avatar in the sticker over time. Insome such embodiments, the first avatar is rendered dynamic within thesticker by at least moving one or more body parts of the altered versionof the first avatar in the sticker over time, where the one or more bodyparts is selected from the group consisting of the arms, the feet, thelegs, the hands, the neck, or the head of the altered version of thefirst avatar.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises providing, at a timeafter the selection of the first electronic communication, a firstaffordance, where selection of the first affordance by the first userdisplays a first tool for selection from a plurality of second avatarsother than the first avatar, where each second avatar in the pluralityof second avatars is associated with a different user in a contact listof the first user within the application or an enumerated list ofavatars provided by the application wherein each avatar in theenumerated list of avatars represents a different public figure.Responsive to receiving a selection of one or more second avatars fromthe plurality of second avatars, the one or more second avatars arecompiled into the sticker.

In some embodiments the method further comprises providing, at a timeafter the selection of the first electronic communication, a secondaffordance, where selection of the second affordance by the first userdisplays a second tool for annotating the sticker with a first userprovided expression encapsulated in a bubble.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises providing, at a timeafter the selection of the first electronic communication, a firstaffordance and a second affordance, where selection of the firstaffordance by the first user displays a first tool for selection from aplurality of second avatars other than the first avatar, where eachsecond avatar in the plurality of second avatars is associated with adifferent user in a contact list of the first user within theapplication or an enumerated list of avatars provided by the applicationwhere each avatar in the enumerated list of avatars represents adifferent public figure and responsive to receiving a selection of oneor more second avatars from the plurality of second avatars, compilingthe one or more second avatars from the plurality of avatars into thesticker. Selection of the second affordance by the first user displays asecond tool for annotating the sticker with a first user providedexpression encapsulated in a bubble.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises providing, at a timeafter the selection of the first electronic communication, a firstaffordance, where selection of the first affordance by the first userdisplays a first tool for selection from a plurality of second avatarsother than the first avatar, where each second avatar in the pluralityof second avatars is associated with a different user in a contact listof the first user within the application or an enumerated list ofavatars provided by the application where each avatar in the enumeratedlist of avatars represents a different public figure and responsive toreceiving a selection of one or more second avatars from the pluralityof avatars. The one or more second avatars is compiled from theplurality of avatars into the sticker. The forming further comprisesconcurrently displaying the altered version of the first avatar, the oneor more selected second avatars, and an emotion slide bar on thedisplay. First user selection of each different portion of the emotionslide bar provides a different emotion on the altered version of thefirst avatar and each second avatar in the one or more second avatarsfrom a discrete set of emotions. Responsive to receiving a user swipe ofthe emotion slide bar, the emotion displayed on the altered version ofthe first avatar and the one or more selected second avatars are changedto the emotion associated with the different portion of the emotionslide bar in which the user swipe ended.

In some embodiments, the first electronic communication is a newsarticle received from a remote publication source. In some embodiments,the first electronic communication relates to an event that is any oneor more of topical news, human interest stories, social news, culturalnews, and blend news. Non-limiting examples of topical news typesinclude sports, politics, business, and cultural, etc. Non-limitingexamples of topical news includes the announcement of President Trumpfiring the FBI director, the announcement of the Golden Gate Warriorswinning a championship, the announcement of APPLE launching new IPHONE,the announcement of the winner of America's Got Talent show, theannouncement of a song going platinum, etc. Non-limiting examples ofhuman interest stories includes things to do over Labor Day weekend, thebest food to eat on a weekend, and things to do when it rains. Intypical embodiments, social news requires a user needs to authenticatewith a participating social networking application such as FACEBOOK,INSTRAGRAM, etc. to get this type of news) and non-limiting examples ofsuch news includes friend's birthdays, friend's relationship statuschanges, the user's relationship status changes, announcements when youhave gotten more than X likes on a post, announcements regarding afriend that got a lot of FACEBOOK “likes” on a FACEBOOK post,announcements regarding which contact of the user got the most FACEBOOK“likes” in the past week etc. Non-limiting examples of cultural newsincludes announcements regarding “Taco Tuesday”, “Hungover,” etc. Blendnews signifies stickers that are not based on topical news. In someembodiments, an event comprises a requested product placement. In someembodiments, an event comprises a sponsored or otherwise paid for post.

In some embodiments, the first avatar includes a pair of eyes, a pair ofeyelids, a set of lips, a pair of eyebrows, a pair of ears, and a body.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises providing, at a timeafter the selection of the first electronic communication, a firstaffordance, where selection of the first affordance by the first userdisplays a first tool for modifying the sticker, where the modifying thesticker comprises: adding a quote bubble, provided by the first user, tothe sticker using the first affordance, associating a sound construct,selected by the first user, to the sticker using the first affordance,adding the avatar of one or more friends of the first user, anddesignated by the first user through the first affordance, to thesticker, changing the expression on each avatar in the sticker using thefirst affordance, adding or removing a prop or background scene to thesticker using the affordance, changing an article of clothing worn by anavatar in the sticker using the affordance, repositioning or rescaling alayer that includes props/backgrounds/clothing using the affordance,changing the bone position of an avatar in the sticker using the firstaffordance, or changing a headline of the sticker using the firstaffordance.

Use of an elliptical composer graphic to customize an avatar. Anotheraspect of the present disclosure provides a method of customizing afirst avatar, comprising in accordance with an application on a firstelectronic device associated with a first user, the first electronicdevice comprising one or more processors, memory, and a display,concurrently displaying the first avatar, representing the first user,and a first elliptical composer graphic on the display. Each differentposition on the first elliptical composer graphic provides a differentvalue for a first trait associated with the first elliptical composergraphic. The method comprises executing a first procedure comprising (i)displaying on the first avatar the first trait set at a value associatedwith a respective portion of the first elliptical composer graphicselected by the first user without user intervention responsive to theuser selection of the respective portion of the first ellipticalcomposer graphic, and (ii) associating the value of the first trait withthe first avatar that is associated with the position of the firstelliptical composer graphic that was selected by the first user. Theassociating displays on the first avatar the first trait set at theselected value of the first trait.

In some embodiments, the displaying (i) is repeated for each portion ofthe first elliptical composer graphic contacted by the first user untila first break in user contact with the first elliptical composer graphicis detected, and the position of the first elliptical composer graphicthat is selected by the first user is the position of the firstelliptical composer graphic that was last contacted by the first userwhen the first break was detected.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises concurrentlydisplaying the first avatar and a second elliptical composer graphic onthe display after the first trait is selected, where each differentportion of the second elliptical composer graphic provides a differentvalue for a second trait associated with the second elliptical composergraphic. In such embodiments, the method further comprises executing asecond procedure comprising (i) displaying on the first avatar thesecond trait set at a value associated with a respective position of thesecond elliptical composer graphic selected by the first user withoutuser intervention responsive to the user selection of the respectiveposition of the second elliptical composer graphic, and (ii) associatingthe value of the first trait with the first avatar that is associatedwith the position of the second elliptical composer graphic that wasselected by the first user, wherein the associating displays on thefirst avatar the second trait set at the selected value of the secondtrait.

In some embodiments, the displaying (i) is repeated for each portion ofthe second elliptical composer graphic contacted by the first user untila break in user contact with the second elliptical composer graphic isdetected, and the position of the second elliptical component that isselected by the first user is the position of the second ellipticalcomposer graphic that was last contacted by the first user when thebreak with the second elliptical component was detected.

In some embodiments, the first trait is one of hair style, ear size,skin color, head shape, eye pupil color, eye pupil size, eye size,rotation of the eyes, height of the eyes on the face, distance betweenthe eyes, ear style, ear size, hair style, hair color, amount of facewrinkles, an amount of cheek indents/dimples, an amount of face pimples,stomach thickness, overall body height, arm length, leg length, footsize, facial hair style, facial hair color, eyebrow length, eyebrowcolor, eyebrow height, a thickness of eyelashes, an eyelash color, aneyelash length, a nose style, a nose size, a height of the nose on theface, a mouth size, a mouth shape, a height of the mouth on the face, ateeth style, a teeth size, a teeth color, a lip style, a lip size, a lipcolor, absence or presence of a facial blush, absence or presence of aneyeshadow, an eye shadow color, a shirt, a vest, a jacket, a dress, askirt, a pair of pants, a pair of shorts, a pair of eye glasses, a hat,a pair of earphones, a necklace, a pair of earrings, a watch, abracelet, a scarf, or a mask.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises receiving aspecification of a gender of the first avatar. A gender layer isincluded on the first avatar from the set of male gender and femalegender responsive to the specification of gender from the first user. Aselection of one or more topical categories from an enumerated pluralityof topical categories is also received and associated with the firstavatar.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises receiving a selectionof a first electronic communication within the application, wherein thefirst electronic communication is associated with a topical category inthe one or more topical categories. A sticker is formed that comprisesan altered version of the first avatar responsive to the selection ofthe first electronic communication. The altered version of the firstavatar comprises one or more visible layers that are present in thefirst avatar and one or more visible layers that are not present in thefirst avatar. The sticker is made available to one or more other usersusing the application, typically by making the sticker available toapplications such as SNAPCHAT, text messaging, FACEBOOK, etc.

In some embodiments, the first electronic communication is selected fromamong a plurality of electronic communications by the first user, andeach electronic communication in the plurality of electroniccommunications is associated with a category in the one or more topicalcategories.

In some embodiments, the forming the sticker comprises concurrentlydisplaying the altered version of the first avatar and an emotion slidebar on the display, first user selection of each different portion ofthe emotion slide bar displays a different emotion on the alteredversion of the first avatar from a discrete set of emotions, andresponsive to receiving a user swipe of the emotion slide bar, thedifferent emotion displayed on the altered version of the first avataris changed to the emotion associated with the different portion of theemotion slide bar in which the user swipe ended.

In some embodiments, the altered version of the first avatar includes apair of eyes, a pair of eyelids, a set of lips, and a pair of eyebrows,and each respective emotion in the discrete set of emotions specifies atleast a first characteristic position for the set of lips of the firstavatar and a second characteristic position for the pair of eyebrows ofthe first avatar.

In some embodiments, the altered version of the first avatar includes apair of eyes, a pair of eyelids, a set of lips, and a pair of eyebrows,and the altered version of the first avatar is rendered dynamic withinthe sticker by relative movement of the pair of eyes, the pair ofeyelids, the set of lips and the pair of eyebrows with respect to thealtered version of the first avatar through a repeating pattern ofexpressions over time.

In some embodiments, the altered version of the first avatar is rendereddynamic within the sticker by any combination of: varying an amount offacial bone deformation, varying a pupil size, varying an eyelidposition, varying an eye size, varying a pupil position, varying a mouthposition, varying a nose position, varying an ear position, varying amouth size, or varying a face perspective in the altered version of thefirst avatar over time.

In some embodiments, the altered version of the first avatar is rendereddynamic within the sticker by any combination of: varying a position ofthe avatar in the sticker over time, varying a scale of the alteredversion of the first avatar in the sticker over time, moving a body partof the altered version of the first avatar in the sticker over time.

In some embodiments, the first avatar is rendered dynamic within thesticker by at least moving one or more body parts of the altered versionof the first avatar in the sticker over time, wherein the one or morebody parts is selected from the group consisting of the arms, the feet,the legs, the hands, the neck, or the head of the altered version of thefirst avatar.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises providing, at a timeafter the selection of the first electronic communication, a firstaffordance, wherein selection of the first affordance by the first userdisplays a first tool for selection from a plurality of avatars otherthan the first avatar, wherein each avatar in the plurality of avatarsis associated with a different user in a contact list of the first userwithin the application. Responsive to receiving a selection of one ormore second avatars from the plurality of avatars, compiling the one ormore second avatars into the sticker.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises providing, at a timeafter the selection of the first electronic communication, a secondaffordance, where selection of the second affordance by the first userdisplays a second tool for annotating the sticker with a user providedexpression encapsulated in a bubble.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises providing, at a timeafter the selection of the first electronic communication, a firstaffordance and a second affordance. Selection of the first affordance bythe first user displays a first tool for selection from a plurality ofavatars other than the first avatar. Each avatar in the plurality ofavatars is associated with a different user in a contact list of thefirst user within the application or an enumerated list of avatarsprovided by the application wherein each avatar in the enumerated listof avatars represents a different public figure. Responsive to receivinga selection of one or more second avatars from the plurality of avatars,the one or more second avatars from the plurality of avatars is compiledinto the sticker. Selection of the second affordance by the first userdisplays a second tool for annotating the sticker with a first userprovided expression encapsulated in a bubble.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises providing, at a timeafter the selection of the first electronic communication, a firstaffordance, where selection of the first affordance by the first userdisplays a first tool for selection from a plurality of second avatarsother than the first avatar. Each second avatar in the plurality ofavatars is associated with a different user in a contact list of thefirst user within the application or an enumerated list of avatarsprovided by the application wherein each avatar in the enumerated listof avatars represents a different public figure. Responsive to receivinga selection of one or more second avatars from the plurality of avatarsby the first user, the one or more second avatars are compiled from theplurality of avatars into the sticker. In such embodiments, the formingfurther comprises concurrently displaying the altered version of thefirst avatar, the one or more selected second avatars, and an emotionslide bar on the display. First user selection of each different portionof the emotion slide bar provides a different emotion on the alteredversion of the first avatar and the one or more selected second avatarsfrom a discrete set of emotions. Responsive to receiving a user swipe ofthe emotion slide bar, the emotion displayed on the altered version ofthe first avatar and the one or more selected second avatars is changedto the emotion associated with the different portion of the emotionslide bar in which the user swipe ended.

In some embodiments, the first electronic communication is a newsarticle received from a remote publication source.

In some embodiments, the first avatar includes a pair of eyes, a nose, aset of lips, a pair of eyebrows, a pair of ears, and a body.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises providing, at a timeafter the selection of the first electronic communication, a firstaffordance, where selection of the first affordance by the first userdisplays a first tool for modifying the sticker, where the modifying thesticker comprises: adding a quote bubble, provided by the first user, tothe sticker using the first affordance, adding the avatar of one or morefriends of the first user, and designated by the first user through thefirst affordance, to the sticker, changing the expression on each avatarin the sticker using the first affordance, adding or removing a prop orbackground scene to the sticker using the affordance, changing anarticle of clothing worn by an avatar in the sticker using theaffordance, repositioning or rescaling a layer that includesprops/backgrounds/clothing using the affordance, changing the boneposition of an avatar in the sticker using the first affordance, orchanging a headline of the sticker using the first affordance.

Server implementations and bridge tool. Another aspect of the presentdisclosure provides a method of customizing avatars responsive to aplurality of events. The method comprises A) receiving a first event inthe plurality of events, B) determining a first topical category for thefirst event from among a plurality of topical categories, C) obtaining aplurality of assets responsive to the first event, where the pluralityof assets determines a position on a first avatar in a scene over time,where the first avatar is associated with a first user that hasdesignated an interest in the first topical category, D) obtaining thefirst avatar from a user profile associated with the first user, E)forming a sticker comprising an altered version of the first avatar,where the altered version of the first avatar comprises: (i) one or morevisible layers that are present in the first avatar and (ii) one or morevisible layers that are not present in the first avatar and that includeall or a portion of the plurality of assets thereby forming a sticker,and F) providing the sticker to the first user along with a firstelectronic communication that describes the first event. In someembodiments, the user can use the bridge tool to add sprite sheetanimations for props 262, background elements 266, body animations forthe one or more altered avatars. In some embodiments, the user can usethe bridge tool to add a sound construct 260 to the sticker 256. In someembodiments, the user can choose from among different versions of thebackground 266 to support different numbers of altered avatars in thesticker 256 (backgrounds 266 suitable for single altered avatars 258 inthe sticker 256, backgrounds 266 suitable for two altered avatars 258 inthe sticker, etc.). In some embodiments, the user can specify dynamicrules for how the background 266 is to adjust to support varying numbersof altered avatars 258 in the sticker 256.

In some such embodiments, one or more visible layers that are notpresent in the first avatar and that include all or a portion of theplurality of assets comprises a gender layer that customizes the alteredversion of the first avatar in accordance with a gender of the firstuser.

In some embodiments, one or more visible layers that are not present inthe first avatar and that include all or a portion of the plurality ofassets comprises one or more assets that are tinted to a skin color ofthe first avatar that is specified in the user profile associated withthe first user.

In some embodiments, the forming specifies the Cartesian coordinates ofa body part of the first avatar in a background scene over time.

In some embodiments, the body part is a torso, a hand, a finger, athumb, a pelvis, a foot, a leg, or an arm of the first avatar.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises previewing the stickerprior to providing the sticker to the first user.

In some embodiments, the obtaining D), forming E), and providing F) isperformed for each respective user in a plurality of users that has userthat has designated an interest in the first topical category. In somesuch embodiments, more than 1000 users have designated an interest inthe first topical category.

In some embodiments, the receiving A), determining B), obtaining C),obtaining D), forming E), and providing F) is performed for a secondevent in the plurality of events, wherein the second event has adifferent topical category than the first event.

In some embodiments, the first event is a news article received from aremote publication source.

In some embodiments, the altered version of the first avatar includes apair of eyes, a pair of eyelids, a set of lips, and a pair of eyebrows,and the altered version of the first avatar is rendered dynamic withinthe sticker by relative movement of the pair of eyes, the pair ofeyelids, the set of lips and the pair of eyebrows with respect to thealtered version of the first avatar through a repeating pattern ofexpressions over time.

In some embodiments, the altered version of the first avatar is rendereddynamic within the sticker by any combination of: varying an amount offacial bone deformation, varying a pupil size, varying eyelid position,varying an eye size, varying pupil position, varying mouth position,varying nose position, varying ear position, varying a mouth size, orvarying a face perspective in the altered version of the first avatar,thereby effecting a repeating pattern of expressions over time.

In some embodiments, the altered version of the first avatar is rendereddynamic within the sticker by any combination of: varying a position ofthe altered version of the first avatar in the sticker over time,varying a scale of the altered version of the first avatar in thesticker over time, or moving a body part of the altered version of thefirst avatar in the sticker over time. In some embodiments, the alteredversion of the first avatar is rendered dynamic within the sticker by atleast moving one or more body parts of the altered version of the firstavatar in the sticker over time, wherein the one or more body parts isselected from the group consisting of the arms, the feet, the legs, thehands, the neck, or the head of the altered version of the first avatar.

Use of social media data. Another aspect of the present disclosureprovides a method of customizing a first avatar. In accordance with anapplication on a first electronic device associated with a first user,the application including a first avatar representing the first user,and where the first user has authenticated with a social networkingapplication, the first electronic device comprising one or moreprocessors, memory, and a display: there is acquired, from the socialnetworking application, social media data pertaining to the first user,such as such as who in the user's friend group got the most likes. Assuch, the social media data comprises an event associated with the firstuser (such as such as who in the user's friend group got the mostlikes). A sticker is formed comprising an altered version of the firstavatar responsive to the event. The altered version of the first avatarcomprises one or more visible layers that are present in the firstavatar and one or more visible layers that are not present in the firstavatar. The sticker is provided to the first user. In some embodiments,the method further comprises enabling the first user to modify thesticker using any of the tools described in the present disclosure ofthe other embodiments. In some embodiments, the method further comprisesenabling the first user to share the sticker with one or more otherusers, for example, through FACEBOOK MESSENGER, TWITTER, SNAPCHAT,and/or iMESSAGE, etc.

Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a method ofcustomizing a first avatar responsive to an event. The method comprises,in accordance with an application on a first electronic deviceassociated with a first user, wherein the application includes a firstavatar representing the first user, the first electronic devicecomprising one or more processors, memory, and a display, receiving aselection of one or more topical categories from an enumerated pluralityof topical categories. The one or more topical categories are associatedwith the first avatar. A selection of a first electronic communicationreceived within the application occurs. The selection is made by thefirst user and the first electronic communication is received by thefirst user in the application. The first electronic communication isclassified into a topical category in the one or more topical categoriesand describing the event. A sticker is formed comprising an alteredversion of the first avatar responsive to the selection of the firstelectronic communication by the first user. In some embodiments, thoughnot in all embodiments, the altered version of the first avatarcomprises one or more visible layers that are present in the firstavatar and one or more visible layers that are not present in the firstavatar. The is provided sticker to one or more other users using theapplication with or without the first electronic communication.

Electronic device embodiments. In accordance with some embodiments, anelectronic device includes a display, one or more processors, memory,and one or more programs. The one or more programs are stored in thememory and are configured to be executed by the one or more processors.The one or more programs include instructions for performing or causingperformance of the operations of any of the methods described herein.

Non-transitory computer readable media embodiments. In accordance withsome embodiments, a nontransitory computer readable storage medium hasstored therein instructions which when executed by an electronic devicewith a display, a memory, and one or more processors to execute one ormore programs stored in the memory, cause the device to perform or causeperformance of the operations of any of the methods described herein.

In accordance with some embodiments, a graphical user interface on anelectronic device with a display, a memory, and one or more processorsto execute one or more programs stored in the memory, includes one ormore of the elements displayed in any of the methods described herein,which are updated in response to inputs, as described in any of themethods described herein.

Thus, electronic devices with displays are provided with faster, moreefficient methods and interfaces for customizing and distributingavatars.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the various described embodiments,reference should be made to the Description of Embodiments below, inconjunction with the following drawings in which like reference numeralsrefer to corresponding parts throughout the figures.

FIG. 1 illustrates a network architecture in accordance with someimplementations.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic client device inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a server system in accordancewith some embodiments.

FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, 4F, and 4G are flow diagrams collectivelyillustrating a method of customizing one or more avatars responsive toan event in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D, 5E, and 5F are flow diagrams collectivelyillustrating a method of customizing an avatar in accordance with someembodiments.

FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, 6D, 6E, and 6F are flow diagrams collectivelyillustrating a method of customizing an avatar in accordance with someembodiments.

FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C are flow diagrams collectively illustrating amethod of customizing an avatar in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 8 illustrates receiving a selection of one or more topicalcategories from an enumerated plurality of topical categories andassociating the one or more topical categories with a first avatar inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 9 illustrates concurrently a first avatar and a first composergraphic on a display, where each different portion of the first composergraphic provides a different value for a first trait associated with thefirst composer graphic, and where the first avatar includes a facecomprising a pair of eyes, a nose, and a set of lips in accordance withsome embodiments.

FIG. 10 illustrates concurrently displaying a first avatar and a secondcomposer graphic on a display, where each different portion of thesecond composer graphic provides a different value for skin color inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 11 illustrates concurrently displaying a first avatar and a secondcomposer graphic on a display, where each different portion of thesecond composer graphic provides a different value for ear style inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 12 illustrates concurrently displaying a first avatar and a first(outer) and second (inner) composer graphic anon a display, where eachdifferent portion of the outer composer graphic provides a differentvalue for hair style and each different portion of the inner composergraphic selects hair color in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 13 illustrates a sticker comprising (i) an altered version of afirst avatar of a first user responsive to the selection by the firstuser of an electronic communication, where the altered version of thefirst avatar comprises one or more visible layers that are present inthe first avatar and one or more visible layers that are not present inthe first avatar and (ii) a second avatar associated with a differentuser in a contact list of the first user or an enumerated list ofavatars where each avatar in the enumerated list of avatars represents adifferent public figure in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 14 illustrates providing a sticker to one or more other users usingan application, where the sticker comprises: (i) an altered version of afirst avatar of a first user responsive to the selection by the firstuser of an electronic communication, where the altered version of thefirst avatar comprises one or more visible layers that are present inthe first avatar and one or more visible layers that are not present inthe first avatar and (ii) a second avatar associated with a differentuser in a contact list of the first user or an enumerated list ofavatars where each avatar in the enumerated list of avatars represents adifferent public figure in accordance with some embodiments, and (iii) afirst user provided expression encapsulated in a bubble in accordancewith some embodiments.

FIG. 15 illustrates providing a sticker to one or more other users usingan application, where the sticker comprises: (i) an altered version of afirst avatar of a first user responsive to the selection by the firstuser of an electronic communication, where the altered version of thefirst avatar comprises one or more visible layers that are present inthe first avatar and one or more visible layers that are not present inthe first avatar and (ii) a second avatar associated with a differentuser in a contact list of the first user or an enumerated list ofavatars where each avatar in the enumerated list of avatars represents adifferent public figure in accordance with some embodiments, and (iii) aprop or background scene in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 16 illustrates providing, at a time after a selection of a firstelectronic communication, a first affordance, where selection of thefirst affordance by the first user displays a first tool for modifying asticker, where the sticker comprises: (i) an altered version of a firstavatar of a first user responsive to the selection by the first user ofan electronic communication, where the altered version of the firstavatar comprises one or more visible layers that are present in thefirst avatar and one or more visible layers that are not present in thefirst avatar and (ii) a second avatar associated with a different userin a contact list of the first user or an enumerated list of avatarswhere each avatar in the enumerated list of avatars represents adifferent public figure in accordance with some embodiments, and wherethe modifying the sticker comprises changing an expression on the firstavatar in the sticker using the first affordance in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 17 illustrates providing a sticker to one or more other users usingan application, where the comprises: (i) an altered version of a firstavatar of a first user responsive to the selection by the first user ofan electronic communication, where the altered version of the firstavatar comprises one or more visible layers that are present in thefirst avatar and one or more visible layers that are not present in thefirst avatar and (ii) a second avatar associated with a different userin a contact list of the first user or an enumerated list of avatarswhere each avatar in the enumerated list of avatars represents adifferent public figure in accordance with some embodiments, and (iii) aprop or background scene in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 18 illustrates providing, at a time after a selection of a firstelectronic communication, a first affordance, where selection of thefirst affordance by the first user displays a first tool for selectionfrom a plurality of second avatars other than a first avatar, where eachsecond avatar in the plurality of second avatars is associated with adifferent user in a contact list of the first user within theapplication in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 19 illustrates a graphical user interface for obtaining a pluralityof assets responsive to an event, where the plurality of assetsdetermines a position on a first avatar in a scene over time, where thefirst avatar is associated with a first user that has designated aninterest in a first topical category associated with the event,obtaining the first avatar from a user profile associated with the firstuser, and forming a sticker comprising an altered version of the firstavatar, where the altered version of the first avatar comprises: (i) oneor more visible layers that are present in the first avatar and (ii) oneor more visible layers that are not present in the first avatar and thatinclude all or a portion of the plurality of assets thereby forming asticker in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 20A, 20B, 20C, and 20D collectively illustrate a sticker in whichcomponents within the sticker are animated in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 21A, 21B, 21C, 21D, 21E, 21F, and 21G collectively illustrate asticker in which components within the sticker are animated inaccordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure.

In the Figures, dashed boxes represent optional embodiments.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of whichare illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following detaileddescription, numerous specific details are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, it will beapparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the present disclosuremay be practiced without these specific details. In other instances,well-known methods, procedures, components, circuits, and networks havenot been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspectsof the embodiments.

It will also be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc.may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements shouldnot be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguishone element from another. For example, a first message could be termed asecond message, and, similarly, a second message could be termed a firstmessage, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Thefirst message and the second message are both messages, but they are notthe same message.

The terminology used in the present disclosure is for the purpose ofdescribing particular embodiments only and is not intended to belimiting of the invention. As used in the description of the inventionand the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” areintended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearlyindicates otherwise. It will also be understood that the term “and/or”as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possiblecombinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It will befurther understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” whenused in this specification, specify the presence of stated features,integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do notpreclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groupsthereof.

As used herein, the term “if” may be construed to mean “when” or “upon”or “in response to determining” or “in response to detecting,” dependingon the context. Similarly, the phrase “if it is determined” or “if [astated condition or event] is detected” may be construed to mean “upondetermining” or “in response to determining” or “upon detecting [thestated condition or event]” or “in response to detecting [the statedcondition or event],” depending on the context.

As used herein, the term “exemplary” is used in the sense of “serving asan example, instance, or illustration” and not in the sense of“representing the best of its kind.”

Embodiments of electronic devices, user interfaces for such devices, andassociated processes for using such devices are described. In someembodiments, the device is a portable communications device, such as amobile telephone, that also contains other functions, such as PDA and/ormusic player functions. Other portable electronic devices, such aslaptops or tablet computers are, optionally, used. It should also beunderstood that, in some embodiments, the device is not a portablecommunications device, but is a desktop computer.

A detailed description of a system 100 for customizing a first avatarresponsive to an event, in accordance with the present disclosure, isdescribed in conjunction with FIGS. 1 through 19.

In particular, FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplarynetwork architecture of a client-server environment 100 in accordancewith some embodiments. The client-server environment 100 includes anumber of client devices (e.g., personal electronic devices) 102-1,102-2, . . . 102-n, each storing instructions for a client application236 in memory 220 (FIG. 2). The client devices 102 are connected to aserver system 106, storing an application server module 108 associatedwith the client application 236 in memory 306 (FIG. 3), by one or morenetworks 104 (e.g., the Internet, cellular telephone networks, mobiledata networks, other wide area networks, local area networks,metropolitan area networks, etc.). In some embodiments, the one or morenetworks 104 include a public communication network (e.g., the Internetand/or a cellular data network), a private communications network (e.g.,a private LAN or leased lines), or a combination of such communicationnetworks.

A respective client device 102 is any suitable computing device that, insome implementations, is capable of connecting to the communicationnetwork(s) 104, receiving from the server system 106 electroniccommunications and proposed altered versions of avatars from the serversystem 106, sending to the server system requests, and presenting,managing, and inputting/editing stickers or avatars. In someimplementations, the client device 102 is a smart phone, a mobile phone,a tablet device, a computing device of a vehicle of a user (e.g., anin-vehicle communications system, an in-vehicle entertainment system, anin-vehicle navigation system), a wearable apparatus of the user thatincludes a computing device (e.g., a watch of the user having acomputing device, glasses of the user having a computing device, awearable music player), a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a netbookcomputer, a gaming device, a multimedia player device, or any otherdevice that is capable of receiving messages, as well as presenting(e.g., displaying), managing, and inputting/editing messages and/orstickers and/or avatars. In some implementations, the client device 102includes an image capture device (e.g., a camera).

Messages from the server system 106 are sent to a respective clientdevice 102 when there is a match between the topical categories of suchmessages and the topical categories that have been designated ofinterest by the user associated with the respective client device 102.In some implementations, the server system 106 includes an applicationserver module 108. The application server module 108 sends eachrespective client device 102 messages when there is a match between thetopical categories of such messages and the topical categories that havebeen designated of interest by the user of the respective client device102. In some embodiments, the application server module 108 sends analtered version of the avatar of the user of the respective clientdevice 102 for each such message. That is, each message sent to the userof a respective client device includes an altered version of the user'savatar, where the altered version of the avatar appears to be reactingto the message. For instance, if the message pertains to a news event,the altered version of the avatar appears to be reacting to the newsevent.

In some embodiments, the server system 106 is a single computing devicesuch as a computer server, while in other embodiments, the server system106 is implemented by multiple computing devices working together toperform the actions of a server system (e.g., cloud computing). Usersemploy the client devices 102 to access the application server module108 at the server system 106 and to receive messages and alteredversions of avatars. For example, a user of one of the client devices102-1 executes application 236. A user first customizes their profile bymaking a selection of one or more topical categories from an enumeratedplurality of topical categories. These one or more topical categoriesare associated with the user's avatar in the user's profile. Theapplication server module 108 takes note of the one or more topicalcategories associated with the user's avatar in the user's profile anduses these one or more topical categories to determine which electroniccommunications to send to the user's application 236 for possibleselection by the user by matching the category of such electroniccommunications to the one or more topical categories selected by theuser of the application 236. Each of these respective electroniccommunications includes an altered version of the user's avatar reactingto the respective electronic communication. Moreover, each of theelectronic communications describes a recent event (e.g., a newsworthyevent that has happened in the past five minutes, the past half hour,the past hour, the past day, or the past week, and/or an event that havebeen trending on top charts of social medial applications such asTWITTER or FACEBOOK within the past half hour, the past hour, the pastday, or the past week). The user, at application 236, makes a selectionof one of the offered electronic communication within the application236. The user uses the application 236 to select one such communication,and responsive to this selection, a sticker is formed comprising thealtered version of the first avatar. The altered version of the firstavatar comprises one or more visible layers that are present in thefirst avatar and one or more visible layers that are not present in thefirst avatar. The user provides the sticker to one or more other usersusing the application. For instance, the user may forward the sticker tocontacts of the user within one or more social applications to whichthat the user subscribes. In some such embodiments, the application 236makes use of application programming interface calls provided by suchsocial media applications (e.g., FACEBOOK MESSENGER, TWITTER, SNAPCHAT,iMESSAGE, etc.) to forward the sticker to such contacts within thesocial media applications via application server module 108 at serversystem 106.

Referring to FIG. 2, an exemplary client device 102 typically includesone or more processing units (CPUs) 214, one or more network or othercommunications interfaces 212, memory 220 (e.g., random access memoryand/or non-volatile memory) optionally accessed by one or morecontrollers 208, and one or more communication busses 210 forinterconnecting the aforementioned components.

The client device 102 also includes a user interface 200. The userinterface 200 typically includes a display device 202, which isoptionally integrated within the device (e.g., housed in the samechassis as the CPU and memory, such as with a smart phone or anall-in-one desktop computer). In some embodiments, the client device 102includes input device(s) 204, such as a keyboard, mouse, and/or otherinput buttons. Alternatively or in addition, in some embodiments, thedisplay device 200 includes a touch-sensitive surface, e.g., wheredisplay 202 is a touch-sensitive display or client device 102 includes atouch pad.

In client devices in which display 202 is touch-sensitive, thetouch-sensitive display provides an input interface and an outputinterface between the device and a user. The touch-sensitive displayincludes a touch-sensitive surface, sensor, or set of sensors thataccepts input from the user based on haptic and/or tactile contact. Thetouch-sensitive display detects contact (and any movement or breaking ofthe contact) on touch-sensitive display and converts the detectedcontact into interaction with user-interface objects (e.g., one or moresoft keys, icons, messages, message interfaces, videos, or images) thatare displayed on touch-sensitive display system (e.g., that aredisplayed at a location on the display 202 corresponding to the locationat which the contact was detected). In client devices that have atouch-sensitive display, a physical keyboard is optional (e.g., a softkeyboard may be displayed when keyboard entry is needed). In someembodiments, the touch-sensitive display detects contact by the fingerof the user and/or a stylus. In such embodiments, the display controller203 receives and/or sends electrical signals from/to touch-sensitivedisplay. As such, the touch-sensitive display displays visual output tothe user. The visual output optionally includes graphics, text, icons,video, and any combination thereof (collectively termed “graphics”).

In some embodiments, client device 102 includes a touchpad (not shown)for activating or deactivating particular functions. In someembodiments, the touchpad is a touch-sensitive area of the device that,unlike a touch screen, does not display visual output. The touchpad is,optionally, a touch-sensitive surface that is separate from atouch-sensitive display system or an extension of the touch-sensitivesurface formed by the touch screen.

In some embodiments, the user interface 200 also includes an audiooutput device, such as speakers or an audio output for connecting withspeakers, earphones, or headphones. In some embodiments, the userinterface 200 also includes an audio input device (e.g., a microphone),and optional voice recognition capabilities (e.g., to supplement orreplace the keyboard). Optionally, the client device 104 includes anaudio input device 210 (e.g., a microphone) to capture audio (e.g.,speech from a user).

In some implementations, the client device 102 also includes one or moreof: one or more sensors (e.g., accelerometer, magnetometer, proximitysensor, gyroscope) (not shown), an image capture device (e.g., a cameradevice or module and related components) (not shown), and/or a locationmodule (e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or othernavigation or geolocation device and related components).

Memory 220 includes high-speed random access memory, such as DRAM, SRAM,DDR RAM, or other random access solid state memory devices, andoptionally also includes non-volatile memory, such as one or moremagnetic disk storage devices, optical disk storage devices, flashmemory devices, or other non-volatile solid state storage devices.Memory 220 may optionally include one or more storage devices remotelylocated from the CPU(s) 214. Memory 220, or alternatively thenon-volatile memory device(s) within memory 220, comprises anon-transitory computer readable storage medium. Access to memory 220 byother components of client device 102, such as CPU(s) 214 and theperipherals interface 206, is, optionally, controlled by controller 208.In some embodiments, memory 220 can include mass storage that isremotely located with respect to the central processing unit(s) 214. Inother words, some data stored in memory 220 may in fact be hosted ondevices that are external to client device 102, but that can beelectronically accessed by client device 102 over an Internet, intranet,or other form of network 104 or electronic cable using communicationinterface 212.

The memory 220 of client device 102 stores:

-   -   an operating system 230 that includes procedures for handling        various basic system services;    -   a file system 232 for controlling access to the various files        and data structures described herein;    -   a network communication module 234 that is used for connecting        the client device 102 to other computers via the one or more        communication network interface(s) 212 (wired or wireless) and        one or more communication networks 104, such as the Internet,        cellular telephone networks, mobile data networks, other wide        area networks, local area networks, metropolitan area networks,        etc.;    -   an application 236 for customizing avatars, indicating        categories, receiving messages in such categories along with        altered avatars responsive to such messages and for indicating        who should receive such messages in conjunction with application        server module 108 through communication network interface(s)        212, and related features/components such as:        -   the avatar 238 associated with a user, the avatar including            one or more traits 240, and for each such respective trait            240 a trait value 242;        -   an avatar gender layer 244 that confers a visible gender to            the avatar 238;        -   a user profile 246 which includes a plurality of topical            categories 248 selected by the user and, optionally, a            contact list 250 associated with the user;    -   one or more electronic communications 252 provided by the        application server module 108, each respective electronic        communication including:        -   a designation of a communication category 254 that matches            one of the topical categories 248 in the profile 246 of the            user;        -   a sticker 256 which includes the altered avatar 258 of a            first user and, optionally, the altered avatar 258 of            additional users selected by the first user, one or more            sounds 260, one or more props 262, one or more foreground            elements 264, a background 266, a bubble message 268 and/or            a headline 270.

Each of the above identified modules and applications correspond to aset of executable instructions for performing one or more functionsdescribed above and the methods described in this application (e.g., thecomputer-implemented methods and other information processing methodsdescribed herein). These modules (e.g., sets of instructions) need notbe implemented as separate software programs, procedures or modules, andthus various subsets of these modules are, optionally, combined orotherwise re-arranged in various embodiments. In some embodiments,memory 220 optionally stores a subset of the modules and data structuresidentified above. Furthermore, memory 220 optionally stores additionalmodules and data structures not described above.

It should be appreciated that device 102 is only one example of a clientdevice, and that device 102 optionally has more or fewer components thanshown, optionally combines two or more components, or optionally has adifferent configuration or arrangement of the components. The variouscomponents shown in FIG. 2 are implemented in hardware, software,firmware, or a combination thereof, including one or more signalprocessing and/or application specific integrated circuits.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary server system 106 inaccordance with some embodiments. The server system typically includesone or more processing units (CPU's) 304, one or more network or othercommunications interfaces 300, memory 306 (e.g., random access memoryand/or non-volatile memory), and one or more communication busses 302for interconnecting the aforementioned components.

Memory 306 includes high-speed random access memory, such as DRAM, SRAM,DDR RAM, or other random access solid state memory devices, andoptionally also includes non-volatile memory, such as one or moremagnetic disk storage devices, optical disk storage devices, flashmemory devices, or other non-volatile solid state storage devices.Memory 306 may optionally include one or more storage devices remotelylocated from the CPU(s) 214. Memory 306, or alternatively thenon-volatile memory device(s) within memory 306, comprises anon-transitory computer readable storage medium. In some embodiments,memory 306 can include mass storage that is remotely located withrespect to the central processing unit(s) 304. In other words, some datastored in memory 306 may in fact be hosted on devices that are externalto server system 106, but that can be electronically accessed by serversystem 106 over an Internet, intranet, or other form of network orelectronic cable using communication interface(s) 300.

The memory 306 of server system 106 stores:

-   -   an operating system 310 that includes procedures for handling        various basic system services;    -   a network communications module 320 for connecting to client        devices 102 and other server systems via the communication        network interface(s) 300 (wired or wireless) and one or more        communication networks (e.g., the one or more networks 104);    -   an application server module 108, associated with client        applications 236 stored in respective memory 220 of client        devices 202, with instructions for executing protocols and        storing data associated with application 236, such as:        -   a login module 332 for authenticating users of client            application 236, and for providing authenticated users            access to data associated with respective sessions;        -   a session content module 334 that provides a plurality of            electronic communications 252, each such electronic            communication describing an event and comprising:            -   a category 254; and            -   a designation of one or more users 340 and for each                respective user of the one or more users, an altered                avatar 248 for the respective user; and        -   a user information module 344 for storing information            associated with respective users 340-1 . . . 340-L of client            application 236, including:            -   user login information 348 (e.g., names and passwords                for logging into the server system 106) and user names                350 (e.g., names displayed in conjunction with messages                uploaded to a respective messaging session).

In some embodiments, information for users 340 stored in the userinformation module 344 includes user profiles, login information,privacy and other preferences, and/or biographical data. In someembodiments, a login name associated with a respective user is the sameas the user name displayed for the user. In other embodiments, a loginname associated with a respective user is different than the user namedisplayed for the user. In some embodiments, server 106 stores theavatar 238 information, including traits 240 and trait values 242 andgender layer 244 for each user, as well as their profile 246 ofsubscribed topical categories 248 and/or contact list 250.

Now that devices and servers in accordance with the present disclosurehave been described, methods for using these devices and servers will bedescribed.

Use of a contemporary event to customize an avatar. FIGS. 4A-4Gillustrate a flow diagram of a method of customizing a first avatar 238responsive to an event. Referring to block 402 of FIG. 4A, the methodcomprises, in accordance with a client application 236 on a firstelectronic device 102 associated with a first user 340, where the clientapplication 236 includes a first avatar 238 representing the first user,the first electronic device 102 comprises one or more processors 214,memory 220, and a display 202: receiving a selection of one or moretopical categories 248 from an enumerated plurality of topicalcategories (e.g., technology, politics, celebrities, culture, etc.). Theone or more topical categories selections by the user are associatedwith the first avatar 238 that is, in turn associated with the user.Stated another way, the user selects topical categories 248 thatinterest the first user and these selected categories are stored in theuser profile 246 of the user as illustrated in FIG. 2. In someembodiments, the user selects one category 248. In some embodiments, theuser selects two or more categories, three or more categories or four ormore categories. FIG. 8 illustrates an example user interface 802 usedin some embodiments of client application to select from among thetopical categories 248 “world events,” “politics,” “sports,” Hollywoodgossip,” “Silicon Valley Tech,” “Wall Street,” “Music,” “Culture,” and“Humor.”

With the selected categories in mind, if anything breaking happenswithin any of the categories 248 selected by the user, the user's avatar238 will react to it as disclosed herein. To this end, referring toblock 406, the user receives a number of communications 252, each ofwhich is classified into one or more topical categories 248. Forinstance, if the user has indicated an interest in the category 248“politics,” each time a political event occurs, the user receives anelectronic communication regarding the political event. The user selectsone such electronic communication 252.

In some embodiments, application server module 108 polls for such eventson a recurring basis and, when such events are discovered, assigns acategory to the topics 248 and, if the category matches those selectedby the user, sends an electronic communication 252 to the clientapplication 236 associated with a user across network 104. In someembodiments, the category of an electronic communication is assigned bythe application server module 108 based upon the Internet source of thedocument. In some embodiments, pattern classification techniques areused to categorize the electronic communication (e.g., trained neuralnetworks, support vector machines, cosine distance metrics, etc.).

In some embodiments, an event is any one or more of topical news, humaninterest stories, social news, cultural news, and blend news.Non-limiting examples of topical news types include sports, politics,business, and cultural, etc. Non-limiting examples of topical newsincludes the announcement of President Trump firing the FBI director,the announcement of the Golden Gate Warriors winning a championship, theannouncement of APPLE launching new IPHONE, the announcement of thewinner of America's Got Talent shoe, the announcement of a song goingplatinum, etc. Non-limiting examples of human interest stories includesthings to do over Labor Day weekend, the best food to eat on a weekend,and things to do when it rains. In typical embodiments, social newsrequires a user needs to authenticate with a participating socialnetworking application such as FACEBOOK, INSTRAGRAM, etc. to get thistype of news) and non-limiting examples of such news includes friend'sbirthdays, friend's relationship status changes, the user's relationshipstatus changes, announcements when you have gotten more than X likes ona post, announcements regarding a friend that got a lot of FACEBOOK“likes” on a FACEBOOK post, announcements regarding which contact of theuser got the most FACEBOOK “likes” in the past week etc. Non-limitingexamples of cultural news includes announcements regarding “TacoTuesday”, “Hungover,” etc. Blend news signifies stickers that are notbased on topical news. In some embodiments, an event comprises arequested product placement. In some embodiments, an event comprises asponsored or otherwise paid for posts.

At some point, a selection of a first electronic communication 252within the client application 236 is made by the user 340. The firstelectronic communication 252 is received by the first user in the clientapplication. The first electronic communication is classified into atopical category 248 in the one or more topical categories, anddescribes the event.

In typical embodiments, referring to block 408 of FIG. 4A, the user'savatar 238 is customized prior to selection of one of the electroniccommunications 252 the user has received. In such embodiments, one ofthe first things that is done by a user after they have installed theclient application 236 on their device 102 is to customize their avatar238. In some such embodiments, referring to FIG. 9, the customizingcomprises concurrently displaying the first avatar 238 and a firstcomposer graphic 902 on the display. Each different portion of the firstcomposer graphic provides a different trait value 242 for a first trait240 associated with the first composer graphic 902. For instance,referring to FIG. 9, portion 904-1 represents a different trait value242 for the first trait “facial hair” than portion 904-1 of the firstcomposer graphic wheel 902. The user can select the desired trait value242 for the first trait associated with the first composer graphic 902by selecting the portion 904 of the first composer graphic 902 thatrepresents the desired trait value 242. In some embodiments, traitvalues 242 are an enumerated list of trait values that arranged ondifferent portions of the first composer graphic 902 (e.g., differenthair colors). In some embodiments, trait values 242 constitute a numericrange (e.g., average hair length as measured in centimeters, e.g., 0.01cm to 15 cm). In some embodiments the trait values for a given traitassociated with the first composer graphic is simply illustrated ondifferent portions of the first composer graphic 902. For instance, asillustrated in FIG. 9, the trait value 242 ranges from clean shaven (1o'clock) all the way through a very full beard (11 o'clock).

As illustrated in FIG. 9, in some embodiments, the first avatar 238includes a face comprising a pair of eyes, a nose, and a set of lips.Further, the customizing of the avatar comprises executing a firstprocedure comprising (i) displaying on the first avatar 238 the firsttrait 240 set at a value associated with a respective portion of thefirst composer graphic selected by the first user 340 responsive to theuser selection of the respective portion of the first composer graphic.For instance, if the user selects portion 904 of the first composergraphic 902, the facial hair of the first avatar 238 is altered to looklike the selected facial hair from the selected portion 904 of the firstcomposer graphic 902. This process of displaying is for each portion 904of the first composer graphic 902 contacted by the first user 340 untila first break in user contact with the first composer graphic isdetected. Thus, in some embodiments the user drags a finger along thefirst composer graphic 902 (e.g., in a clockwise or counterclockwisefashion) and as they do the facial hair on the avatar 238 is changed tomatch the portion 904 of the first composer graphic 902 they aretouching. Once the user stops touching the first composer graphic thevalue 242 of the first trait 240 that is at the portion 904 of the firstcomposer graphic 902 last touched by the user before the break isassociated with the first avatar 238. In other words, the trait value242 that is associated with the portion of the first composer graphic902 that was last contacted by the first user 340 when the first breakwas detected is associated with the first avatar 238. Further, thisassociation includes displaying on the first avatar 238 the first trait240 set at the trait value 242 of the first trait associated with theportion 904 of the first composer graphic 902 that was last contacted bythe first user 340 when the first break was detected.

Referring to block 410 of FIG. 4B and FIG. 10, in some embodiments,responsive to detection of the first break, the first avatar 238 and asecond composer graphic 1002 are concurrently displayed on the display.Each different portion of the second composer graphic 1002 provides adifferent value 242 for a second trait 240 (e.g., “skin color”)associated with the second composer graphic 1002. In accordance withsuch embodiments, a second procedure is executed that comprises (i)displaying on the first avatar 238 the second trait 240 set at a value242 associated with a respective portion 1004 of the second composergraphic 1002 selected by the user 340 responsive to the user selectionof the respective portion 1004 of the second composer graphic, (ii)repeating the displaying (i) for each portion 1004 of the secondcomposer graphic 1002 contacted by the first user 340 until a secondbreak in user contact with the second composer graphic 1002 is detected,where the repeating occurs at least one time, and (iii) associating thevalue 242 of the second trait 240 with the first avatar 238 that isassociated with the portion 1004 of the second composer graphic 1002that was last contacted by the first user 340 when the second break wasdetected. Thus, in some embodiments, the user drags a finger along thesecond composer graphic 1002 (e.g., in a clockwise or counterclockwisefashion) and as they do the skin color on the avatar 238 is changed tomatch the portion 1004 of the second composer graphic 1004 they aretouching. Once the user stops touching the second composer graphic thevalue 242 of the second trait 240 that is at the portion 1004 of thesecond composer graphic 1002 last touched by the user before the secondbreak is associated with the first avatar 238. This associating resultsin the display on the first avatar 238 of the second trait 240 set atthe value 242 of the second trait 240 associated with the portion 1004of the second composer graphic 1002 that was last contacted by the firstuser 340 when the second break was detected.

Referring to FIG. 11, in some embodiments, responsive to detection ofthe second break, the first avatar 238 and a third composer graphic 1102are concurrently displayed on the display. Each different portion of thethird composer graphic 1102 provides a different value 242 for a thirdtrait 240 (e.g., “ear size”) associated with the third composer graphic1102. In accordance with such embodiments, a third procedure is executedthat comprises (i) displaying on the first avatar 238 the third trait240 set at a value 242 associated with a respective portion 1104 of thethird composer graphic 1102 selected by the user 340 responsive to theuser selection of the respective portion 1104 of the third composergraphic, (ii) repeating the displaying (i) for each portion 1104 of thethird composer graphic 1102 contacted by the first user 340 until athird break in user contact with the third composer graphic 1102 isdetected, where the repeating occurs at least one time, and (iii)associating the value 242 of the third trait 240 with the first avatar238 that is associated with the portion 1104 of the third composergraphic 1102 that was last contacted by the first user 340 when thethird break was detected. Thus, in some embodiments, the user drags afinger along the third composer graphic 1102 (e.g., in a clockwise orcounterclockwise fashion) and as they do the ear size on the avatar 238is changed to match the portion 1104 of the third composer graphic 1104they are touching. Once the user stops touching the third composergraphic the value 242 of the third trait 240 that is at the portion 1104of the third composer graphic 1102 last touched by the user before thethird break is associated with the first avatar 238. This associatingresults in the display on the first avatar 238 of the third trait 240set at the value 242 of the third trait 240 associated with the portion1104 of the third composer graphic 1102 that was last contacted by thefirst user 340 when the third break was detected.

Referring to FIG. 12, in some embodiments, responsive to detection ofthe third break, the first avatar 238 and a fourth composer graphic 1202are concurrently displayed on the display. Each different portion of thefourth composer graphic 1202 provides a different value 242 for a fourthtrait 240 (e.g., “hair style”) associated with the fourth composergraphic 1202. In accordance with such embodiments, a fourth procedure isexecuted that comprises (i) displaying on the first avatar 238 thefourth trait 240 set at a value 242 associated with a respective portion1204 of the fourth composer graphic 1102 selected by the user 340responsive to the user selection of the respective portion 1204 of thefourth composer graphic, (ii) repeating the displaying (i) for eachportion 1204 of the fourth composer graphic 1102 contacted by the firstuser 340 until a fourth break in user contact with the fourth composergraphic 1202 is detected, where the repeating occurs at least one time,and (iii) associating the value 242 of the fourth trait 240 with thefirst avatar 238 that is associated with the portion 1204 of the fourthcomposer graphic 1202 that was last contacted by the first user 340 whenthe fourth break was detected. Thus, in some embodiments, the user dragsa finger along the fourth composer graphic 1202 (e.g., in a clockwise orcounterclockwise fashion) and as they do the hair style on the avatar238 is changed to match the portion 1204 of the fourth composer graphic1204 they are touching. Once the user stops touching the fourth composergraphic the value 242 of the fourth trait 240 that is at the portion1204 of the fourth composer graphic 1202 last touched by the user beforethe fourth break is associated with the first avatar 238. Thisassociating results in the display on the first avatar 238 of the fourthtrait 240 set at the value 242 of the fourth trait 240 associated withthe portion 1204 of the fourth composer graphic 1202 that was lastcontacted by the first user 340 when the fourth break was detected.

In some embodiments, referring to block 412 of FIG. 4B, in non-limitingembodiments, the first or second trait 240 (and in fact, with furtherreference to FIGS. 11 and 12, the third and fourth trait) is hair style,ear size, skin color, head shape, eye pupil color, eye pupil size, eyesize, rotation of the eyes, height of the eyes on the face, distancebetween the eyes, ear style, ear size, hair style, hair color, amount offace wrinkles, an amount of cheek indents/dimples, an amount of facepimples, stomach thickness, overall body height, arm length, leg length,foot size, facial hair style, facial hair color, eyebrow length, eyebrowcolor, eyebrow height, a thickness of eyelashes, an eyelash color, aneyelash length, a nose style, a nose size, a height of the nose on theface, a mouth size, a mouth shape, a height of the mouth on the face, ateeth style, a teeth size, a teeth color, a lip style, a lip size, a lipcolor, absence or presence of a facial blush, absence or presence of aneyeshadow, an eye shadow color, a shirt, a vest, a jacket, a dress, askirt, a pair of pants, a pair of shorts, a pair of eye glasses, a hat,a pair of earphones, a necklace, a pair of earrings, a watch, abracelet, a scarf, and/or a mask.

Referring to block 414 of FIG. 4C, in some embodiments, the first avatar238 is customized prior to selection of the first electroniccommunication 252. Some techniques for customizing the avatar 238 havebeen described above with reference to blocks 408 through 412. In someembodiments, the customizing comprises receiving a specification of thegender of the first avatar 238 from the first user 340 and including agender layer 244 responsive to the specification of gender from thefirst user 340 on the first avatar. Suitable choices for gender includemale gender and female gender. The male gender layer 244 adds elementsto the avatar 238 that make the avatar appear as a male, such as certaintypes of clothing, facial hair, hair style, etc. The female gender layer244 adds elements to the avatar 238 that make the avatar appear as afemale, such as certain types of clothing, absence of facial hair,jewelry, hair style, etc.

Referring to block 416 of FIG. 4C, in some embodiments the firstelectronic communication 252 is selected from among a plurality ofelectronic communications by the first user 340, and each electroniccommunication in the plurality of electronic communications isassociated with a category 254 in the one or more topical categories. Insome embodiments, each such electronic communication 252 describes anevent in accordance with its associated category, the event occurring inthe past five minutes, past half hour, past hour, past day or past week.In some embodiments, each such electronic communication 252 describes anevent in accordance with its associated category, the event trending inthe past five minutes, past half hour, past hour, past day or past weekon a social network application such as GOOGLE, TWITTER, etc. In someembodiments, at any given the time, the plurality of electroniccommunications 252 available for the user to select from at a clientapplication 236 is two or more electronic communications 252, five ormore electronic communications 252, or 100 or more electroniccommunications 252. In some embodiments, each electronic communication252 is associated with a single communication category 254 and theplurality of electronic communications collectively includescommunications across two or more categories, three or more categories,or ten or more categories 254. In some embodiments, each electroniccommunication 252 is associated with two or more communicationcategories 254.

Embodiments in which an altered form (altered version 258) of a user'sbase avatar 238 responsive to the sentiment of an electroniccommunication 252 have been described. Referring to block 418 of FIG.4C, in some embodiments, each respective communication 252 in theplurality of electronic communications 252 includes a differentcorresponding instance of the altered version 258 of the first avatarcustomized for the respective communication 252 by addition of one ormore layers not present in the first avatar 238. These additional layerscan modify the expression of the base avatar. For instance, the one ormore additional layers may overlay enlarge anatomical features over thebase avatar 238, such as enlarged ears to convey a listening posture.

Referring to block 420 of FIG. 4C, in some embodiments, the firstelectronic communication 252 is a news article received from a remotepublication source. For instance, in some embodiments the remotepublication source is CABLE NEWS NETWORK (CNN), FOX NEWS, REUTERS, orthe ASSOCIATED PRESS and the news article is published by one of theseremote publication sources over communication network 104.

Referring to block 422 of FIG. 4C, the method continues with theformation of a sticker 256 comprising the altered version 258 of thefirst avatar responsive to the selection of the first electroniccommunication 252 by the first user 340. In some such embodiments, thesticker 256 is formed in response to the selection of the firstelectronic communication 252. In some such embodiments, the sticker 256existed prior to the selection of the first electronic communication. Inaccordance with block 422, the altered version 258 of the first avatarcomprises one or more visible layers that are present in the firstavatar and one or more visible layers that are not present in the firstavatar 238. In some embodiments, the sticker is in JPEG format. In someembodiments, the sticker is in MP4 format, or some other format thatallows for animation.

Referring to block 424 of FIG. 4C, and with reference to FIG. 16, insome embodiments the forming the sticker 256 comprises concurrentlydisplaying the altered version 258 of the first avatar and an emotionslide bar 1602 on the display. First user 340 selection of eachdifferent portion of the emotion slide bar 1602 displays a differentemotion on the altered version 258 of the first avatar from a discreteset of emotions. Responsive to receiving a user swipe of the emotionslide bar, the different emotion displayed on the altered version 258 ofthe first avatar is changed to the emotion associated with the differentportion of the emotion slide bar in which the user swipe ended. Forinstance, referring to FIG. 16, portion 1604-1 of the emotion slide bar1602 is associated with the emotion “angry” while portion 1604-2 of theemotion slide bar 1602 is associated with some other emotion other thanangry. Referring to block 426 of FIG. 4C, in some such embodiments, andas illustrated in FIG. 16, the avatar 238 includes a pair of eyes, anose, and a set of lips, a pair of eyebrows, a pair of ears, and a body,and each respective emotion in the discrete set of emotions associatedwith the emotion slide bar 1602 specifies at least a firstcharacteristic position for the set of lips of the first avatar and asecond characteristic position for the pair of eyebrows of the firstavatar to convey the associated emotion in the altered avatar 258. Forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 16, to convey the emotion “angry,” thedefault (base) avatar 238 of the user is taken and the lips and eyebrowspositions are changed to form an altered avatar 258 (of the defaultavatar 238) that conveys anger. In some embodiments, the lips andeyebrows positions are changed by overlaying layers onto the base avatar238 with lips and eyebrows in altered positions to thereby form thealtered avatar.

In some such embodiments, and as illustrated in FIG. 16, the avatar 238includes a pair of eyes, a nose, and a set of lips, a pair of eyebrows,a pair of ears, and a body, and each respective emotion in the discreteset of emotions associated with the emotion slide bar 1602 specifies atleast a first characteristic position for one of the pair of eyes, anose, and a set of lips, a pair of eyebrows, a pair of ears, and a bodyof the first avatar and a second characteristic position for another ofthe pair of eyes, a nose, and a set of lips, a pair of eyebrows, a pairof ears, and a body of the first avatar to convey the associated emotionin the altered avatar 258. In some embodiments, these components of theavatar are changed by overlaying layers onto the base avatar 238 withthe components in altered positions to thereby form the altered avatar.

Referring to block 428 of FIG. 4D, in some embodiments, a firstaffordance (e.g., a check box, a radio button, a slide bar, an inputfield, a radio button, a drop-down menu, a shopping cart, etc.) isprovided by the client application 236 at a time after the selection ofthe first electronic communication 252. Selection of the firstaffordance by the first user displays a first tool for selection from aplurality of second avatars other than the first avatar 238. FIG. 18illustrates an example first tool 1802 for selection from a plurality ofsecond avatars 238 other than the first avatar 238. As illustrated inFIG. 18, each such second avatar 238 is associated with a different userin a contact list 250 of the first user within the client application236. In some embodiments, additionally or instead of the contact list,an enumerated list of avatars is provided by the client application 236,where each avatar in the enumerated list of avatars represents adifferent public figure (e.g., figures that are generally known tosubstantial portions of the public, such as Barrack Obama, Donald Trump,etc.). In some embodiments, the enumerated list of avatars consists oftwo or more avatars each representing a different public figure. In someembodiments, the enumerated list of avatars consists of five or moreavatars each representing a different public figure. In someembodiments, the enumerated list of avatars consists of ten or moreavatars each representing a different public figure. Responsive toreceiving a selection of one or more second avatars from the pluralityof second avatars, the one or more second avatars are compiled into thesticker 256. The dashed box in FIG. 17 illustrates the sticker 256 priorto inclusion of one or more second avatars. In some embodiments, theuser uses first tool 1802 illustrated in FIG. 18 to select one or moreavatars from the user's contact list 250 and/or an enumerated list ofpublic figures. FIG. 15 then illustrates the inclusion of one suchadditional avatar from the user's contact list 250 and/or an enumeratedlist of public figures in the sticker 256.

Referring to block 430 of FIG. 4D, in a similar embodiment, a firstaffordance is provided within the client application 236 after theselection of the electronic communication 252. User selection of thefirst affordance displays a first tool for selection from a plurality ofsecond avatars other than the first avatar 238 (e.g., tool 1802 of FIG.18). Each avatar 238 in the plurality of second avatars is associatedwith a different user 340 in a contact list 250 of the first user withinthe application or an enumerated list of avatars provided by theapplication, where each avatar in the enumerated list of avatarsrepresents a different public figure. Responsive to receiving aselection of one or more second avatars from the plurality of secondavatars, the one or more second avatars are compiled from the pluralityof avatars into the sticker 256. The forming further comprisesconcurrently displaying the altered version 258 of the first avatar, theone or more selected second avatars, and an emotion slide bar on thedisplay. An example of this emotion slide bar is emotion slide bar 1602of FIG. 16. First user selection of each different portion 1604 of theemotion slide bar 1602 provides a different emotion on both (i) thealtered version 258 of the first avatar 258-1 and (ii) each secondavatar (e.g., avatar 258-2 of FIG. 16) in the one or more second avatarsfrom a discrete set of emotions. That is to say, in such embodiments,the emotion slide bar changes the emotion of each avatar 258 in thesticker 256 to the emotion associated with the different portion 1604 ofthe emotion slide bar 1602 last contacted by the user. In alternativeembodiments, the user can use the emotion slide bar 1602 to change theemotion of a subset of the displayed avatars. For instance, referring toFIG. 16, in some embodiments, the user can use the emotion slide bar1602 to change avatar 258-1 to a first emotion (a first portion of theemotion slide bar) and then use the emotion slide bar 1602 to changeavatar 258-2 to a second emotion (a second portion of the emotion slidebar). Such embodiment require an avatar selection tool not shown in FIG.16. Furthermore, it will be appreciated that there is no requirementthat the emotion slide bar 1602 have a linear shape. In someembodiments, the emotion slide bar 1602 has a closed-form shape (e.g.,polygon, elliptical or circular shape) and each different portion 1604of the slide bar 1062 is associated with a different emotion that can beexpressed on the altered avatar 258. Responsive to receiving a userswipe of the emotion slide bar, the emotion displayed on the alteredversion 258 of the first avatar, and in some embodiments the one or moreselected second avatars, is changed to the emotion associated with thedifferent portion 1604 of the emotion slide bar 1602 in which the userswipe ended.

Referring to block 432 of FIG. 4E, in some optional embodiments thesticker 256 that includes the altered avatars is fused with the firstelectronic communication 252. In some such embodiments this constitutescombining a headline that represents the first electronic communication252 with the sticker 256. In alternative embodiments, this constitutesaltogether replacing the first electronic communication 252 with asticker 256 that includes a headline 270 that represents the firstelectronic communication 252. That is to say, in such embodiments, thesticker 256 encompasses the entirety of the displayed message in FIG.13, not just the dashed box region. In still other embodiments, block532 constitutes combining a snippet from the original electroniccommunication 252 with the sticker 256. In still other embodiments,block 532 constitutes combining the entirety of the original electroniccommunication 252 with the sticker 256, with the sticker 256 overlayinga portion of the original electronic communication 252. In still otherembodiments, block 532 constitutes combining the entirety of theoriginal electronic communication 252 with the sticker 256, with thesticker 256 being appended to the original electronic communication 252so that it does not overlay any part of the original electroniccommunication 252.

Referring to block 434 of FIG. 4F, after the first user has optionallycustomized or modified the sticker, using the client application 236,the first user provides the sticker to one or more other users 340. Insome embodiments, the client application 236 accomplishes thedistribution of the sticker to one or more other users using applicationprogramming interface (API) calls that are supported by one or moresocial networking applications that are installed on the user's clientdevice 102. For instance, if the user has FACEBOOK MESSENGER, TWITTER,SNAPCHAT, iMESSAGE, etc. (or other social networking applications)installed on the client application, API calls supported by theseapplications can be used by the client application 236 to distribute thesticker to one or more other users that are among the first user'sFACEBOOK MESSENGER, TWITTER, SNAPCHAT, iMESSAGE, etc. (or other socialnetworking applications) contacts. As such, the other users do not needto be using an instance of the client application 236 in order toreceive a sticker 256 from the first user.

In some embodiments, a headline 270 is synthesized from the originalelectronic communication 252 and included in the sticker. In someembodiments, the sticker 256 has a headline 270 which conveys a snippetor general synopsis of the original electronic communication 252. Insome embodiments, the one or more altered avatars 258 are reacting tothe headline 270 in a way that is characteristic of the usersrepresented by the avatars. For instance, if the user is politicallyconservative, the altered avatar 258 in a given sticker 256 would bereacting negatively to events that would generally be regarded asadvancements in liberal policy and would be reacting positively toevents that would generally be regarded as advancements in conservativepolicy. The user then distributes the sticker 252, in accordance withblock 434 of FIG. 4F.

Referring to block 435, in some optional embodiments, the sticker 256 isdistributed with all or a portion of the first electronic communication252. The original communication does not have a sticker 256 attached toit. In such optional embodiments, the sticker is added 256 (e.g. inaccordance with optional block 432) to the electronic communication 252using the systems and methods disclosed herein. In such embodiments, thesticker 256 makes the original write up of the event in the originalelectronic communication 252 more eye catching and entertaining to read.In this way, the client application 236 advances the goal of makingwrite ups of events more interesting to read than conventional onlinenews and event sources.

Details for systems and methods for customizing an avatar 238 inresponse to events have been disclosed with reference to blocks 402through block 434 of FIGS. 4A through 4E. FIG. 4 further disclosesvariations or additions to such systems and methods. For instance,referring to block 436 of FIG. 4E, in some embodiments, clientapplication 236 provides, at a time after the selection of the firstelectronic communication 252, a first affordance. Selection of the firstaffordance by the first user 340 displays a first tool for annotatingthe sticker with a first user 340 provided expression encapsulated in abubble 268. FIG. 14 illustrates this result. The user has annotated thesticker with bubble 268 containing the message “Hi There.”

Referring to block 438 of FIG. 4F, in some embodiments, clientapplication 236 provides, at a time after the selection of the firstelectronic communication 252, a first affordance and a second affordance(e.g., a check box, a radio button, a slide bar, an input field, a radiobutton, a drop-down menu, a shopping cart, etc.). Selection of the firstaffordance by the first user 340 displays a first tool for selectionfrom a plurality of second avatars other than the first avatar 238. Eachsecond avatar 238 in the plurality of second avatars is associated witha different user in a contact list 250 of the first user within theclient application 236 or an enumerated list of avatars provided by theapplication. Each avatar in the enumerated list of avatars represents adifferent public figure. Responsive to receiving a selection of one ormore second avatars from the plurality of second avatars, the one ormore selected second avatars from the plurality of avatars is compiledinto the sticker 256. Selection of the second affordance by the firstuser 340 displays a second tool for annotating the sticker with a firstuser 340 provided expression encapsulated in a bubble 268. Sticker 256of FIG. 14 illustrates one such embodiment of the type of sticker 256produced in accordance with block 438.

Referring to block 440 of FIG. 4F, in some embodiments, the alteredversion 258 of the first avatar 238 includes a pair of eyes, a pair ofeyelids, a set of lips, and a pair of eyebrows as illustrated in FIG.17. Further, the altered version 258 of the first avatar is rendereddynamic within the sticker by relative movement of the pair of eyes, thepair of eyelids, the set of lips and the pair of eyebrows with respectto the altered version 258 of the first avatar through a repeatingpattern of expressions over time. For instance, referring to FIG. 17, insome embodiments, the altered version 258 of the first avatar isrendered dynamic (e.g., within the sticker) by moving the eyebrows ofthe depicted avatar 258-1 within the sticker 256 through a repeatingpattern over time. For example, the eyebrows of the depicted avatar258-1 within the sticker 256 are posed within the sticker in a firstposition (e.g., lowered) for few milliseconds, then posed within thesticker in a second position (e.g., straight) for a few milliseconds,and then posed within the sticker in a third position (e.g., raised) fora few milliseconds. This sequence is then repeated with the eyebrowsreturning to the first position, and then cycling through the second andthird position over and over again. In some embodiments, the repeatingpattern has three discrete independent positions that are cycled throughas outlined above. More typically, the repeating pattern has ten or morediscrete independent positions that are cycled through, or one hundredor more discrete independent positions that are cycled through. In someembodiments, each position is depicted for at least one millisecond, atleast 10 milliseconds, at least 100 milliseconds, or at least 250milliseconds before moving on to the next position.

As another example, referring to FIG. 17, in some embodiments, thealtered version 258 of the first avatar is rendered dynamic (e.g.,within the sticker) by changing the size of the eyes of the depictedavatar 258-1 within the sticker 256 over time, moving the eyelids of thedepicted avatar 258-1 within the sticker 256 through a first repeatingpattern over time, and moving the lips of the depicted avatar 258-1within the sticker 256 through a second repeating pattern over time,and/or moving the eyebrows of the depicted avatar 258-1 within thesticker 256 through a third repeating pattern over time where the first,second, and third repeating pattern is the same or different. That is,they may have different numbers of independent positions that are cycledthrough, and on different timing schedules (e.g., each independentposition of the first repeating pattern may be rendered in the sticker256 for a different amount of time than each independent position of thesecond repeating patter).

Referring to block 442 of FIG. 4F, in some embodiments, the alteredversion 258 of the first avatar 238 is rendered dynamic within thesticker by any combination of: varying an amount of facial bonedeformation in the altered version 258 of the first avatar over time,varying a pupil size in the altered version 258 of the first avatar overtime, varying eyelid position in the altered version 258 of the firstavatar over time, varying an eye size in the altered version 258 of thefirst avatar over time, varying pupil position in the altered version258 of the first avatar over time, varying mouth position in the alteredversion 258 of the first avatar over time, varying nose position in thealtered version 258 of the first avatar over time, varying ear positionin the altered version 258 of the first avatar over time, varying amouth size in the altered version 258 of the first avatar over time,varying a face perspective in the altered version 258 of the firstavatar over time, varying a position of the altered version 258 of thefirst avatar in the sticker over time, varying a scale of the alteredversion 258 of the first avatar in the sticker over time, and/or movinga body part of the altered version 258 of the first avatar in thesticker over time. In such embodiments, typically, this variation of thealtered version 258 component (e.g., pupil size, eyelid position, eyesize, etc.) is in a repeating pattern where eventually each independentposition in the pattern is revisited over time.

Referring to block 444 of FIG. 4F, in some embodiments, the alteredversion 258 of the first avatar is rendered dynamic within the stickerby at least moving one or more body parts of the altered version 258 ofthe first avatar in the sticker over time, and the one or more bodyparts is selected from the group consisting of the arms, the feet, thelegs, the hands, the neck, or the head of the altered version 258 of thefirst avatar 238.

Referring to block 446 of FIG. 4G, in some embodiments, clientapplication 236 provides, at a time after the selection of the firstelectronic communication 252, a first affordance (e.g., a check box, aradio button, a slide bar, an input field, a radio button, a drop-downmenu, a shopping cart, etc.). Selection of the first affordance by thefirst user 340 displays a first tool for modifying the sticker 256. Themodifying the sticker 256 in accordance with block 446 comprises: addinga quote bubble 268, provided by the first user 340, to the sticker 256using the first affordance, associating a sound construct 260, selectedby the first user 340, to the sticker 256 using the first affordance,adding the avatar 238 of one or more friends of the first user 340, anddesignated by the first user 340 through the first affordance, to thesticker, changing the expression on each avatar 238 in the sticker usingthe first affordance, adding or removing a prop 262 or background scene266 to the sticker 256 using the affordance, changing an article ofclothing worn by an avatar 238 in the sticker using the affordance,repositioning or rescaling a layer that includes props 262/backgrounds266/clothing using the affordance, changing the bone position of anavatar 238 in the sticker using the first affordance, and/or changing aheadline 270 of the sticker using the first affordance.

In some embodiments, the modifying the sticker 256 in accordance withblock 446 comprises associating a sound construct 260, selected by thefirst user, to the sticker 256. In some embodiments, the sound construct260 is sound recorded by the first user, such as a recorded message madeby the first user. In some embodiments, the sound construct 260 is lessthan three seconds, less than 10 seconds, less than 30 seconds, lessthan one minute or less than 5 minutes of sound recorded in anuncompressed audio format, pulse-code modulation (PCM) format, waveformaudio file (WAV) format, audio interchange file format (AIFF),MPEG-Audio Layer 3 (MP3) format, advanced audio coding (AAC) format, OGG(Vorbis) format, WINDOWS media audio (WMA) format, free lossless audio(FLAC) format, APPLE lossless audio codec (ALAC) format, WINDOWS mediaaudio (WMA) format, or some other format. In some embodiments, the soundconstruct is a song or a part of a song. In some embodiments, the soundconstruct 260 comprises a sound effect, such as horns blowing, a crowdcheering, a crowd booing, or person crying, or a person laughing, etc.

In some embodiments, the modifying the sticker 256 in accordance withblock 446 comprises adding or removing a prop 262 to the sticker usingthe affordance. For instance, FIG. 15 illustrates a prop 262 in thesticker 256. Non-limiting examples of props 262 a user can use to modifythe sticker in accordance with block 446 includes furniture, tools,flags, balloons, signs, crosses, weapons, garbage cans, animals, cages,or other objects. In some embodiments, the user selects the prop 262 forinclusion in the sticker 256 from a stock panel of props offered byclient application 236. In some embodiments, the user is able to addtheir own props 262 the stock panel of props offered by clientapplication 236 for inclusion in the sticker 256 in accordance withblock 446.

In some embodiments, the modifying the sticker 256 in accordance withblock 446 comprises adding a background scene 266 to the sticker 256using the affordance. FIG. 15 illustrates one such background scene 266,which is highlighted with a dotted line (which is not part of thesticker 256). The background scene 266 of FIG. 15, by way ofillustration, includes birds being targeted with guns.

In some embodiments, the modifying the sticker 256 in accordance withblock 446 comprises adding and/or changing a headline 270 of the stickerusing the first affordance. FIG. 15 illustrates a headline 270. If theuser does not edit the headline 270, the headline 270 is the messageprovided in the original default electronic communication 252 that theuser selected at the outset.

Referring to block 448 of FIG. 4F, in some embodiments, the clientapplication 236 adds a quote bubble 268, provided by an entity otherthan the application or the first user 340, to the sticker 256,associates a sound construct 260, provided by an entity other than theapplication or the first user 340, to the sticker 256, or adds orremoves a prop 262 or background scene 266, provided by an entity otherthan the application or the first user 340. By way of example, thisother entity is a retailer, or other form of business organization thatpays to have the quote bubble, sound construct, prop or background sceneadded to the sticker.

It should be understood that the particular order in which theoperations described above and illustrated in FIGS. 4A-4G have beendescribed is merely exemplary and is not intended to indicate that thedescribed order is the only order in which the operations could beperformed. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize various waysto reorder the operations described herein.

Thus FIG. 4 illustrates how client application 236 can be used to takepre-designed assets that will look just like the user. Moreover, bypaying attention to the topical categories 248 in the user's profile,when the client application 236 presents the avatar, in the form of analtered avatar 258 to the user, the avatar not only looks like the user,but it also seems to thinks like the user to in that the expressions onaltered avatar 258 mimic those that the user would have when reacting toan event. As disclosed in conjunction with FIG. 4, client application236 enables this by helping the user to create a base avatar 238 thatlooks just like the user, but then adds different interests (categories248) to its brain (user profile 246) as discussed above in conjunctionwith FIG. 8. So the user of client application 236 can add interests(categories 248) such as world events, politics, sports, Hollywoodgossip, Silicon Valley technology, Wall Street, Music, Culture, and/orhumor. Depending on those interests that the user adds to their brain,if any breaking events within those interests occur during a given epic(e.g., that day, the past hour, the past five minutes) the user will seetheir avatar 238, now altered in response to the event and in the formof an altered avatar 258 in “real time” (within an hour or two), wherethe altered avatar 258 appears to be reacting to the event. As anexample, consider the case where the user has made an avatar 238 ofthemselves. The avatar 238 looks just like the user. Moreover, the userhas added politics and sports to their brain (e.g., included topicalcategories 248 “politics” and “sports” to their user profile 246.Consider further that at 12 o'clock that day the Warriors win thechampionship. When the user opens up the client application 236 at 1o'clock that day, the user will see their avatar 238, now in the form ofan altered avatar 258 jumping on the court with Jeff Curry and DrayMongreen wearing quick and long shirts. If the user likes thisdepiction, they can send it to other users.

In this way, client application 236 serves to present news and otherevents in an entertaining format where the user is watching a mini-cloneof themselves, almost a mini-robot of themselves (in the form of alteredavatar 258) reenact everything that happened in the world that day. Thisprovides a more interesting way to consume news than traditional methodssuch as reading The New York Times or reading ESPN and so forth, and itis all based on entertainment and allowing the user to subconsciouslyretain the information that comes along with it and also share it withothers.

Building an avatar using minimal human intervention. Turning to FIG. 5,another aspect of the present disclosure is building an avatar usingminima human intervention. For instance, block 502 of FIG. 5A provides amethod of customizing an avatar 238, comprising, in accordance with anapplication on a first electronic device 102 associated with a firstuser 340, the first electronic device comprising one or more processors,memory, and a touchscreen display: concurrently displaying a firstavatar 238, representing the first user 340, and a first composergraphic on the display. Each different portion of the first composergraphic provides a different value 242 for a first trait 240 associatedwith the first composer graphic. For instance, referring to FIG. 9, eachdifferent portion 904 of the first composer graphic 902 provides adifferent value 242 for the trait 240 “facial hair” that is associatedwith the first composer graphic 902.

Referring to block 504 of FIG. 5A, and as further illustrated in FIG. 9,in some embodiments the first avatar 238 includes a pair of eyes, a pairof eyelids, a set of lips, a pair of eyebrows, a pair of ears, and abody. Further, referring to block 506 of FIG. 5A, the disclosed methodin accordance with FIG. 5 comprises executing a first procedure thatcomprises displaying on the first avatar 238 the first trait 240 (e.g.,facial hair) set at a value 242 associated with a respective portion 904of the first composer graphic 902 selected by the first user 340 withoutuser intervention (e.g., automatically) responsive to the user selectionof the respective portion of the first composer graphic.

Referring to block 506 of FIG. 5A, the displaying of block 504 isrepeated for each portion 904 of the first composer graphic 902contacted by the first user 340 until a first break in user contact withthe first composer graphic 902 is detected. The repeating 506 occurs atleast one time.

Referring to block 510 of FIG. 5A, the value 242 of the first trait 240is associated with the first avatar 238 that is associated with theportion 904 of the first composer graphic 902 that was last contacted bythe first user 340 when the first break was detected. The associatingdisplays on the first avatar 238 the first trait 240 set at the value242 of the first trait associated with the portion of the first composergraphic that was last contacted by the first user when the first breakwas detected.

Then, at block 512 of FIG. 5A, responsive to detection of the firstbreak, the client application 236 concurrently displays the first avatar238 and a second composer graphic on the display. Each different portionof the second composer graphic provides a different value 242 for asecond trait associated with the second composer graphic. FIG. 10illustrates. In some embodiments the panel illustrated in FIG. 10 isimmediately displayed after a user break in the panel displayed in FIG.9 is detected. Each different portion 1004 of the second composergraphic 1002 provides a different value 242 for the trait “skin color”that is associated with the second composer graphic 1002. As such, thesecond composer graphic 1002 takes on properties that the user isapplying to their avatar. So, if the user opens up the second composergraphic 1002, the user can pick their skin color. In the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 10, the first 75% of the wheel has various shades ofhuman colors. And the second composer graphic 1002 provides more funcolors on the left top. So, if the user slides their finger around thesecond composer graphic 1002, the avatar 238 will be updated toinstantly change to the skin color corresponding to the portion 1004 ofthe second composer graphic 1002 currently being touched by the user.

Thus, referring to block 516 of FIG. 5B, the client application 236displays on the first avatar 238 the second trait 240 set at a value 242associated with a respective portion 1004 of the second composer graphic1002 selected by the first user 340 without user intervention (e.g.,automatically) responsive to the user selection of the respectiveportion 1004 of the second composer graphic 1002. Referring to block 518of FIG. 5B, the client application 236 repeats the displaying 516 foreach portion 1004 of the second composer graphic 1004 contacted by thefirst user 340 until the second break in user contact with the secondcomposer graphic 1002 is detected, where the repeating occurs at leastone time. Referring to block 520 of FIG. 5B, the value 242 of the secondtrait 240 that is associated with the first avatar 238 is the value 242corresponding to that portion 1004 of the second composer graphic 1002that was last contacted by the first user 340 when the second break wasdetected. The associating of block 520 displays on the first avatar 238the second trait 240 set at the value 242 of the second trait 240associated with the portion 1004 of the second composer graphic 1002that was last contacted by the first user 340 when the second break wasdetected.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 10, when the second break is detectedwhile the panel illustrated in FIG. 10 is being displayed, the avatar238 is assigned the skin color that corresponds to the last portion ofthe second composer graphic 1002 that was being touched and, then, thepanel illustrated in FIG. 11 is displayed. The panel of FIG. 11 includesa third composer graphic 1102 that lets the user pick their earsize/style. As the user movers their finger around the third composergraphic 1102, the avatar 238 ears grow larger.

When a break is detected while the panel illustrated in FIG. 11 is beingdisplayed, the avatar 238 is assigned the ear size/style thatcorresponds to the last portion of the third composer graphic 1102 thatwas being touched and the panel illustrated in FIG. 12 is displayed. Thepanel of FIG. 12 includes a fourth composer graphic 1202 that lets theuser pick their hair style. As the user movers their finger around thefourth composer graphic 1202, the avatar 238 hair grows longer. In thisway, the user is able to pick their hair style. If the user is female,they may pick longer hair. If the user is male, they may pick shorterhair (e.g., something more at the beginning of the fourth composergraphic 1202). As illustrated, in FIG. 12, the hair style gets morecurly on the upper left hand portions of the fourth composer graphic1202. Further, to select hair color, the user can select a hair color onthe inner composer graphic 1206. Thus, in FIG. 12, a double composergraphic 1202/1206 is concurrently displayed where the outer composergraphic 1202 selects hair style and the inner composer graphic 1206selects hair color.

The avatar 238 composer illustrated in FIGS. 8 through 12 allows theuser to quickly move from one trait 240 to the next in order to settrait values 242 to thereby customize the avatar 238 to look like theuser within using the client application 236.

Referring to block 514 of FIG. 5B, in some embodiments, the first,second, third, or fourth trait 240 is one of hair style, ear size, skincolor, head shape, eye pupil color, eye pupil size, eye size, rotationof the eyes, height of the eyes on the face, distance between the eyes,ear style, ear size, hair style, hair color, amount of face wrinkles, anamount of cheek indents/dimples, an amount of face pimples, stomachthickness, overall body height, arm length, leg length, foot size,facial hair style, facial hair color, eyebrow length, eyebrow color,eyebrow height, a thickness of eyelashes, an eyelash color, an eyelashlength, a nose style, a nose size, a height of the nose on the face, amouth size, a mouth shape, a height of the mouth on the face, a teethstyle, a teeth size, a teeth color, a lip style, a lip size, a lipcolor, absence or presence of a facial blush, absence or presence of aneyeshadow, an eye shadow color, a shirt, a vest, a jacket, a dress, askirt, a pair of pants, a pair of shorts, a pair of eye glasses, a hat,a pair of earphones, a necklace, a pair of earrings, a watch, abracelet, a scarf, and/or a mask.

Referring to block 522 of FIG. 5C, in some embodiments, a specificationof a gender is received for the first avatar 238 using the clientapplication 236. In such embodiments, a gender layer 244 is included onthe first avatar 238 that is selected from the set of “male gender” and“female gender” responsive to the specification of gender from the firstuser 340. Further, a selection of one or more topical categories 248from an enumerated plurality of topical categories is obtained, e.g.,using the interface illustrated in FIG. 8. The selected one or moretopical categories are associated with the first avatar 238 (e.g., byinclusion in the user's profile 246 illustrated in FIG. 2).

Referring to block 524 of FIG. 5C, in some embodiments, a selection of afirst electronic communication 252 is received within the clientapplication 236. The electronic communication 252 is associated with atopical category 248 in the one or more topical categories. The methodcontinues by forming a sticker 256 comprising an altered version 258 ofthe first avatar responsive to the selection of the first electroniccommunication. The altered version 258 of the first avatar comprises oneor more visible layers that are present in the first avatar 238 and oneor more visible layers that are not present in the first avatar 238. Thepurpose of the one or more visible layers that are not present in thefirst avatar 238 is to alter the expression of the first avatar 238 sothat it is seen as “reacting” the information conveyed in the firstelectronic communication.

In some embodiments, the sticker 256, which may be for example in JPEGor MP4 format, is fused with the first electronic communication. Thatis, the sticker can be superimposed on the first electroniccommunication, appended to the first electronic communication, or in anyway electronically combined with the first electronic communication.

In some embodiments, the sticker is not fused with the first electroniccommunication. In some optional embodiments, the sticker is communicatedto one or more other users using the client application 236. In somesuch embodiments, the sticker is in MP4 format or some other format thatsupport animation. In some embodiments, the client application 236accomplishes the distribution of the sticker to one or more other usersusing application programming interface (API) calls that are supportedby one or more social networking applications that are installed on theuser's client device 102. For instance, if the user has FACEBOOKMESSENGER, TWITTER, SNAPCHAT, iMESSAGE, etc. (or other social networkingapplications) installed on the client application, API calls supportedby these applications can be used by the client application 236 todistribute the sticker to one or more other users that are among thefirst user's FACEBOOK MESSENGER, TWITTER, SNAPCHAT, iMESSAGE, etc. (orother social networking applications) contacts.

Referring to block 526 of FIG. 5C, in some embodiments, the firstelectronic communication 252 is selected from among a plurality ofelectronic communications by the first user 340 (e.g., from among atleast three electronic communications, from among at least fiveelectronic communications, from among at least 10 electroniccommunications, etc.). Each electronic communication in the plurality ofelectronic communications is associated with a category 248 in the oneor more topical categories.

Referring to block 528 of FIG. 5C, in some embodiments the forming thesticker 256 comprises concurrently displaying the altered version 258 ofthe first avatar and an emotion slide bar on the display. An example ofthis is illustrated in FIG. 16. First user selection of each differentportion 1604 of the emotion slide bar 1602 displays a different emotionon the altered version 258 of the first avatar from a discrete set ofemotions. In some embodiments, the slide bar includes five or moreportions each representing a different emotion, ten or more portionseach representing a different emotion, or 25 or more portions eachrepresenting a different emotion. Responsive to receiving a user swipeof the emotion slide bar, the different emotion displayed on the alteredversion 258 of the first avatar is changed to the emotion associatedwith the different portion of the emotion slide bar in which the userswipe ended. Referring to block 530 of FIG. 5C, in some embodiments thealtered version 258 of the first avatar includes a pair of eyes, a pairof eyelids, a set of lips, and a pair of eyebrows, and each respectiveemotion in the discrete set of emotions specifies at least a firstcharacteristic position for the set of lips of the first avatar and asecond characteristic position for the pair of eyebrows of the firstavatar.

Referring to block 532 of FIG. 5D, in some embodiments, the alteredversion 258 of the first avatar includes a pair of eyes, a pair ofeyelids, a set of lips, and a pair of eyebrows. The altered version 258of the first avatar is rendered dynamic within the sticker by relativemovement of the pair of eyes, the pair of eyelids, the set of lips andthe pair of eyebrows with respect to the altered version 258 of thefirst avatar through a repeating pattern of expressions over time. Forinstance, referring to FIG. 17, in some embodiments, the altered version258 of the first avatar is rendered dynamic by moving the eyebrows ofthe depicted avatar 258-1 within the sticker 256 through a repeatingpattern over time. For example, the eyebrows of the depicted avatar258-1 within the sticker 256 are posed within the sticker in a firstposition (e.g., lowered) for few milliseconds, then posed within thesticker in a second position (e.g., straight) for a few milliseconds,and then posed within the sticker in a third position (e.g., raised) fora few milliseconds. This sequence is then repeated with the eyebrowsreturning to the first position, and then cycling through the second andthird position over and over again. In some embodiments, the repeatingpattern has three discrete independent positions that are cycled throughas outlined above. More typically, the repeating pattern has ten or morediscrete independent positions that are cycled through, or one hundredor more discrete independent positions that are cycled through. In someembodiments, each position is depicted for at least one millisecond, atleast 10 milliseconds, at least 100 milliseconds, or at least 250milliseconds before moving on to the next position.

Referring to block 534 of FIG. 5D, in some embodiments the alteredversion 258 of the first avatar is rendered dynamic within the stickerby any combination of: varying an amount of facial bone deformation,varying a pupil size, varying eyelid position, varying an eye size,varying pupil position, varying mouth position, varying nose position,varying ear position, varying a mouth size, or varying a faceperspective in the altered version 258 of the first avatar over time.

As another example, referring to FIG. 17, in some embodiments, thealtered version 258 of the first avatar is rendered dynamic (e.g.,within the sticker) by changing the size of the eyes of the depictedavatar 258-1 within the sticker 256 over time, moving the eyelids of thedepicted avatar 258-1 within the sticker 256 through a first repeatingpattern over time, and moving the lips of the depicted avatar 258-1within the sticker 256 through a second repeating pattern over time,and/or moving the eyebrows of the depicted avatar 258-1 within thesticker 256 through a third repeating pattern over time where the first,second, and third repeating pattern is the same or different. That is,they may have different numbers of independent positions that are cycledthrough, and on different timing schedules (e.g., each independentposition of the first repeating pattern may be rendered in the sticker256 for a different amount of time than each independent position of thesecond repeating pattern).

Referring to block 536 of FIG. 5D, in some embodiments the alteredversion 258 of the first avatar is rendered dynamic within the stickerby any combination of: varying an amount of facial bone deformation inthe altered version 258 of the first avatar over time, varying a pupilsize in the altered version 258 of the first avatar over time, varyingeyelid position in the altered version 258 of the first avatar overtime, varying an eye size in the altered version 258 of the first avatarover time, varying pupil position in the altered version 258 of thefirst avatar over time, varying mouth position in the altered version258 of the first avatar over time, varying nose position in the alteredversion 258 of the first avatar over time, varying ear position in thealtered version 258 of the first avatar over time, varying a mouth sizein the altered version 258 of the first avatar over time, or varying aface perspective in the altered version 258 of the first avatar overtime.

Referring to block 536 of FIG. 5D, in some embodiments, the first avatar238 is rendered dynamic within the sticker by at least moving one ormore body parts of the altered version 258 of the first avatar in thesticker over time. The one or more body parts is selected from the groupconsisting of the arms, the feet, the legs, the hands, the neck, or thehead of the altered version 258 of the first avatar.

Referring to block 540 of FIG. 5D, in some embodiments the clientapplication 236 provides a first affordance (e.g., a check box, a radiobutton, a slide bar, an input field, a radio button, a drop-down menu, ashopping cart, etc.) at a time after the selection of the firstelectronic communication 252. User selection of the first affordancedisplays a tool for selection from among a plurality of second avatarsother than the first avatar. Each second avatar 238 is associated with adifferent user in a contact list 250 of the first user 340 within theapplication or an enumerated list of avatars provided by theapplication. Each avatar in the enumerated list of avatars represents adifferent public figure. Further, the selected one or more secondavatars are compiled into the sticker 256.

Referring to block 542 of FIG. 5E, in some embodiments, the clientapplication 236 provides, at a time after the selection of the firstelectronic communication 252, a second affordance (e.g., a check box, aradio button, a slide bar, an input field, a radio button, a drop-downmenu, a shopping cart, etc.). Selection of the second affordance by thefirst user 340 displays a second tool for annotating the sticker with afirst user provided expression encapsulated in a bubble 268. FIG. 14illustrates this result. The user has annotated the sticker with bubble268 containing the message “Hi There.”

Referring to block 544 of FIG. 5E, in some embodiments, the clientapplication 236 provides, after the selection of the first electroniccommunication 252, first and second affordances (e.g., a check box, aradio button, a slide bar, an input field, a radio button, a drop-downmenu, a shopping cart, etc.). First user selection of the firstaffordance displays a tool for selection from a plurality of secondavatars other than the first avatar 238. Each such second avatar 238 isassociated with a different user in a contact list 250 of the first userwithin the application or an enumerated list of avatars 238 provided bythe application, where each avatar 238 in the enumerated list representsa different public figure. Responsive to receiving a selection of one ormore second avatars, the client application 236 compiles the one or moresecond avatars into the sticker 256. Selection of the second affordanceby the first user causes the client application 236 to display a secondtool for annotating the sticker with a first user provided expressionencapsulated in a bubble 268.

Referring to block 546 of FIG. 5F, in some embodiments, the clientapplication 236 provides, at a time after the selection of the firstelectronic communication 252, a first affordance (e.g., a check box, aradio button, a slide bar, an input field, a radio button, a drop-downmenu, a shopping cart, etc.). First user 340 selection of the firstaffordance displays a tool for selection from a plurality of secondavatars 238 other than the first avatar 238. Each such second avatar isassociated with a different user 340 in a contact list 250 of the firstuser 340 within the application or an enumerated list of avatarsprovided by the application, each avatar in the enumerated list ofavatars representing a different public figure. Responsive to receivinga selection of one or more second avatars from the plurality of avatars,the client application 236 compiles the one or more second avatars fromthe plurality of avatars into the sticker 256. The forming furthercomprises concurrently displaying the altered version 258 of the firstavatar, the one or more selected second avatars, and an emotion slidebar on the display. First user 340 selection of each different portionof the emotion slide bar provides a different emotion on the alteredversion 258 of the first avatar and each second avatar in the one ormore second avatars from a discrete set of emotions. An example of thisis illustrated in FIG. 16. First user selection of each differentportion 1602 of the emotion slide bar 1602 displays a different emotionon the altered version 258 of the first avatar and each second avatar inthe one or more second avatars from a discrete set of emotions.Responsive to receiving a user swipe of the emotion slide bar 1602, theemotion displayed on the altered version 258 of the first avatar and theone or more selected second avatars is changed to the emotion associatedwith the different portion 1604 of the emotion slide bar 1602 in whichthe user swipe ended.

Referring to block 548 of FIG. 5F, in some embodiments, the firstelectronic communication 252 is a news article received from a remotepublication source. For instance, in some embodiments the remotepublication source is CABLE NEWS NETWORK (CNN), FOX NEWS, REUTERS, orthe ASSOCIATED PRESS and the news article is published by one of theseremote publication sources over communication network 104.

Referring to block 550 of FIG. 5F, in some embodiments the clientapplication 236 provides, at a time after the selection of the firstelectronic communication 252, a first affordance (e.g., a check box, aradio button, a slide bar, an input field, a radio button, a drop-downmenu, a shopping cart, etc.). Selection of the first affordance by thefirst user displays a first tool for modifying the sticker 256. Themodifying the sticker in accordance with block 550 comprises adding aquote bubble 268, provided by the first user, to the sticker 256 usingthe first affordance, associating a sound construct 260, selected by thefirst user, to the sticker 256 using the first affordance, adding theavatar 238 of one or more friends of the first user, and designated bythe first user through the first affordance, to the sticker, changingthe expression on each avatar 238 in the sticker 256 using the firstaffordance, adding or removing a prop 262 or background scene 266 to thesticker using the affordance, changing an article of clothing worn by anavatar 238 in the sticker using the affordance, repositioning orrescaling a layer that includes props 262/backgrounds 266/clothing usingthe affordance, changing the bone position of an avatar 238 in thesticker 256 using the first affordance, and/or changing a headline 270of the sticker using the first affordance.

In some embodiments, the modifying the sticker 256 in accordance withblock 550 comprises associating a sound construct 260, selected by thefirst user, to the sticker 256. In some embodiments, the sound construct260 is sound recorded by the first user, such as a recorded message madeby the first user. In some embodiments, the sound construct 260 is lessthan three seconds, less than 10 seconds, less than 30 seconds, lessthan one minute or less than 5 minutes of sound recorded in anuncompressed audio format, pulse-code modulation (PCM) format, waveformaudio file (WAV) format, audio interchange file format (AIFF),MPEG-Audio Layer 3 (MP3) format, advanced audio coding (AAC) format, OGG(Vorbis) format, WINDOWS media audio (WMA) format, free lossless audio(FLAC) format, APPLE lossless audio codec (ALAC) format, WINDOWS mediaaudio (WMA) format, or some other format. In some embodiments, the soundconstruct is a song or a part of a song. In some embodiments, the soundconstruct 260 comprises a sound effect, such as horns blowing, a crowdcheering, a crowd booing, or person crying, or a person laughing, etc.

In some embodiments, the modifying the sticker 256 in accordance withblock 550 comprises adding or removing a prop 262 to the sticker usingthe affordance. For instance, FIG. 15 illustrates a prop 262 in thesticker 256. Non-limiting examples of props 262 a user can use to modifythe sticker in accordance with block 446 includes furniture, tools,flags, balloons, signs, crosses, weapons, garbage cans, animals, cages,or other objects. In some embodiments, the user selects the prop 262 forinclusion in the sticker 256 from a stock panel of props offered byclient application 236. In some embodiments, the user is able to addtheir own props 262 the stock panel of props offered by clientapplication 236 for inclusion in the sticker 256 in accordance withblock 446.

In some embodiments, the modifying the sticker 256 in accordance withblock 550 comprises adding a background scene 266 to the sticker 256using the affordance. FIG. 15 illustrates one such background scene 266,which is highlighted with a dotted line (which is not part of thesticker 256). The background scene 266 of FIG. 15, by way ofillustration, includes birds being targeted with guns.

In some embodiments, the modifying the sticker 256 in accordance withblock 550 comprises adding and/or changing a headline 270 of the stickerusing the first affordance. FIG. 15 illustrates a headline 270. If theuser does not edit the headline 270, the headline 270 is the messageprovided in the original default electronic communication 252 that theuser selected at the outset.

Using an elliptical first composer graphic to customize an avatar. FIGS.6A-6F detail systems and methods for using an elliptical first composergraphic to customize an avatar. Referring to block 602, a method ofcustomizing a first avatar 238, comprising, in accordance with a clientapplication 236 on a first electronic device 102 associated with a firstuser 340, the first electronic device comprising one or more processors,memory, and a display: concurrently displaying the first avatar 238,representing the first user 340, and a first elliptical composer graphicon the display. Each different portion of the first elliptical composergraphic provides a different value 242 for a first trait 240 associatedwith the first elliptical composer graphic. For instance, referring toFIG. 9, each different portion 904 of the first elliptical composergraphic 902 provides a different value 242 for the trait 240 “facialhair” that is associated with the first composer graphic 902.

Referring to 604 of FIG. 6A, and as further illustrated in FIG. 9, insome embodiments the first avatar 238 includes a pair of eyes, a nose, aset of lips, a pair of eyebrows, a pair of ears, a pair of eyelids, anda body. Further, referring to block 606 of FIG. 6A, the disclosed methodin accordance with FIG. 6 comprises executing a first procedure thatcomprises displaying on the first avatar 238 the first trait 240 set ata value 242 associated with a respective portion of the first ellipticalcomposer graphic selected by the first user 340 without userintervention (e.g., automatically) responsive to the user selection ofthe respective portion of the first elliptical composer graphic.

Referring to block 608 of FIG. 6A, the client application 236 associatesthe value 242 of the first trait 240 with the first avatar 238 that isassociated with the position of the first elliptical composer graphicthat was selected by the first user 340. The associating displays on thefirst avatar the first trait 240 set at the selected value 242 of thefirst trait. As referenced by block 610 of FIG. 6A, the displaying 606is repeated for each portion of the first elliptical composer graphiccontacted by the first user 340 until a first break in user contact withthe first elliptical composer graphic is detected. The position of thefirst elliptical composer graphic that is selected by the first user 340is the position of the first elliptical composer graphic that was lastcontacted by the first user when the first break was detected.

Referring to block 612 of FIG. 6A, in some embodiments the first trait240 is one of hair style, ear size, skin color, head shape, eye pupilcolor, eye pupil size, eye size, rotation of the eyes, height of theeyes on the face, distance between the eyes, ear style, ear size, hairstyle, hair color, amount of face wrinkles, an amount of cheekindents/dimples, an amount of face pimples, stomach thickness, overallbody height, arm length, leg length, foot size, facial hair style,facial hair color, eyebrow length, eyebrow color, eyebrow height, athickness of eyelashes, an eyelash color, an eyelash length, a nosestyle, a nose size, a height of the nose on the face, a mouth size, amouth shape, a height of the mouth on the face, a teeth style, a teethsize, a teeth color, a lip style, a lip size, a lip color, absence orpresence of a facial blush, absence or presence of an eyeshadow, an eyeshadow color, a shirt, a vest, a jacket, a dress, a skirt, a pair ofpants, a pair of shorts, a pair of eye glasses, a hat, a pair ofearphones, a necklace, a pair of earrings, a watch, a bracelet, a scarf,and/or a mask.

Referring to block 614 of FIG. 6B, the client application 236concurrently displays the first avatar 238 and a second ellipticalcomposer graphic on the display after the first trait 240 is selected.FIG. 10 illustrates. In some embodiments the panel illustrated in FIG.10 is immediately displayed after a user break in the panel displayed inFIG. 9 is detected. Each different portion 1004 of the second ellipticalcomposer graphic 1002 provides a different value 242 for the trait “skincolor” that is associated with the second elliptical composer graphic1002. As such, the second elliptical composer graphic 1002 takes onproperties that the user is applying to their avatar 238. So, if theuser opens up the second elliptical composer graphic 1002, the user canpick their skin color. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 10, thefirst 75% of the second elliptical composer graphic has various shadesof human colors. And the second elliptical composer graphic 1002provides more fun colors on the left top. So, if the user slides theirfinger around the second elliptical composer graphic 1002, the avatar238 will be updated to instantly change to the skin color correspondingto the portion 1004 of the second elliptical composer graphic 1002currently being touched by the user. As such, the method furthercomprises executing a second procedure comprising: (i) displaying on thefirst avatar the second trait set at a value 242 associated with arespective position of the second elliptical composer graphic selectedby the first user 340 without user intervention responsive to the userselection of the respective position of the second elliptical composergraphic, and (ii) associating the value of the first trait with thefirst avatar 238 that is associated with the position of the secondelliptical composer graphic that was selected by the first user 340.This associating displays on the first avatar the second trait set atthe selected value 242 of the second trait.

Referring to block 616 of FIG. 6B, the client application 236 repeatsthe displaying for each portion 1004 of the second elliptical composergraphic 1002 contacted by the first user 340 until a break in usercontact with the second elliptical composer graphic 1002 is detected.The position 1004 of the second elliptical component 1002 that isselected by the first user 340 is the position of the second ellipticalcomposer graphic 1002 that was last contacted by the first user 340 whenthe break with the second elliptical component 1002 was detected.

Referring to block 618 of FIG. 6B, in some embodiments, the methodfurther comprises receiving a specification of a gender of the firstavatar 238. In such instances, the client application 236 includes agender layer 244 on the first avatar 238 that is selected from the setof “male gender” and “female gender” responsive to the specification ofgender from the first user 340. Moreover, in accordance with block 618,the client application 234 receives a selection of one or more topicalcategories 248 from an enumerated plurality of topical categories (e.g.,using the interface illustrated in FIG. 8), and associates the one ormore topical categories with the first avatar 238 (e.g., by inclusion inthe user's profile 246 illustrated in FIG. 2).

Referring to block 620 of FIG. 6C, in some embodiments a selection of afirst electronic communication 252 is received within the clientapplication 236. The electronic communication 252 is associated with atopical category 248 in the one or more topical categories. The methodcontinues by forming a sticker 256 comprising an altered version 258 ofthe first avatar responsive to the selection of the first electroniccommunication 252. The altered version 258 of the first avatar comprisesone or more visible layers that are present in the first avatar and oneor more visible layers that are not present in the first avatar. Thepurpose of the one or more visible layers that are not present in thefirst avatar 238 is to alter the expression of the first avatar 238 sothat it is seen as “reacting” the information conveyed in the firstelectronic communication.

In some such embodiments, the sticker 256, which may be for example inJPEG format, is fused with the first electronic communication 252 toform a message. In some such embodiments, the message is communicated toone or more other users 340 using the application. In some embodiments,the client application 236 accomplishes the distribution of the messageto one or more other users using application programming interface (API)calls that are supported by one or more social networking applicationsthat are installed on the user's client device 102. For instance, if theuser has FACEBOOK MESSENGER, TWITTER, SNAPCHAT, iMESSAGE, etc. (or othersocial networking applications) installed on the client application, APIcalls supported by these applications can be used by the clientapplication 236 to distribute the message to one or more other usersthat are among the first user's FACEBOOK MESSENGER, TWITTER, SNAPCHAT,iMESSAGE, etc. (or other social networking applications) contacts.

In some embodiments, the sticker 256, which may be for example in JPEGformat as discussed above, is not fused with the first electroniccommunication 252. In some embodiments, the sticker 256, is in MP4format or some other format that supports animation. Further in suchembodiments, the sticker 256 is not fused with the first electroniccommunication 252. In some such embodiments, the sticker is communicatedto one or more other users 340 using the application. In some suchembodiments, the client application 236 accomplishes the communicationof the sticker to one or more other users using application programminginterface (API) calls that are supported by one or more socialnetworking applications that are installed on the user's client device102. For instance, if the user has FACEBOOK MESSENGER, TWITTER,SNAPCHAT, iMESSAGE, etc. (or other social networking applications)installed on the client application, API calls supported by theseapplications can be used by the client application 236 to distribute thesticker to one or more other users that are among the first user'sFACEBOOK MESSENGER, TWITTER, SNAPCHAT, iMESSAGE, etc. (or other socialnetworking applications) contacts.

Referring to block 622 of FIG. 6C, in some embodiments, the firstelectronic communication 252 is selected from among a plurality ofelectronic communications by the first user 340 (e.g., from among atleast three electronic communications, from among at least fiveelectronic communications, from among at least 10 electroniccommunications, etc.). Each electronic communication in the plurality ofelectronic communications is associated with a category 248 in the oneor more topical categories.

Referring to block 624 of FIG. 6C, in some embodiments, the forming thesticker 256 comprises concurrently displaying the altered version 258 ofthe first avatar and an emotion slide bar on the display. An example ofthis is illustrated in FIG. 16. First user selection of each differentportion 1604 of the emotion slide bar 1602 displays a different emotionon the altered version 258 of the first avatar from a discrete set ofemotions. In some embodiments, the slide bar includes five or moreportions each representing a different emotion, ten or more portionseach representing a different emotion, or 25 or more portions eachrepresenting a different emotion. Responsive to receiving a user swipeof the emotion slide bar, the different emotion displayed on the alteredversion 258 of the first avatar is changed to the emotion associatedwith the different portion of the emotion slide bar in which the userswipe ended. Referring to block 626 of FIG. 6C, in some embodiments thealtered version 258 of the first avatar includes a pair of eyes, a pairof eyelids, a set of lips, and a pair of eyebrows, and each respectiveemotion in the discrete set of emotions specifies at least a firstcharacteristic position for the set of lips of the first avatar and asecond characteristic position for the pair of eyebrows of the firstavatar.

Referring to block 628 of FIG. 6D, in some embodiments, the alteredversion 258 of the first avatar includes a pair of eyes, a pair ofeyelids, a set of lips, and a pair of eyebrows. The altered version 258of the first avatar is rendered dynamic within the sticker by relativemovement of the pair of eyes, the pair of eyelids, the set of lips andthe pair of eyebrows with respect to the altered version 258 of thefirst avatar through a repeating pattern of expressions over time. Forinstance, referring to FIG. 17, in some embodiments, the altered version258 of the first avatar is rendered dynamic by moving the eyebrows ofthe depicted avatar 258-1 within the sticker 256 through a repeatingpattern over time. For example, the eyebrows of the depicted avatar258-1 within the sticker 256 are posed within the sticker in a firstposition (e.g., lowered) for few milliseconds, then posed within thesticker in a second position (e.g., straight) for a few milliseconds,and then posed within the sticker in a third position (e.g., raised) fora few milliseconds. This sequence is then repeated with the eyebrowsreturning to the first position, and then cycling through the second andthird position over and over again. In some embodiments, the repeatingpattern has three discrete independent positions that are cycled throughas outlined above. More typically, the repeating pattern has ten or morediscrete independent positions that are cycled through, or one hundredor more discrete independent positions that are cycled through. In someembodiments, each position is depicted for at least one millisecond, atleast 10 milliseconds, at least 100 milliseconds, or at least 250milliseconds before moving on to the next position.

Referring to block 630 of FIG. 6D, in some embodiments the alteredversion 258 of the first avatar is rendered dynamic within the stickerby any combination of: varying an amount of facial bone deformation,varying a pupil size, varying eyelid position, varying an eye size,varying pupil position, varying mouth position, varying nose position,varying ear position, varying a mouth size, or varying a faceperspective in the altered version 258 of the first avatar over time.

As another example, referring to FIG. 17, in some embodiments, thealtered version 258 of the first avatar is rendered dynamic (e.g.,within the sticker) by changing the size of the eyes of the depictedavatar 258-1 within the sticker 256 over time, moving the eyelids of thedepicted avatar 258-1 within the sticker 256 through a first repeatingpattern over time, and moving the lips of the depicted avatar 258-1within the sticker 256 through a second repeating pattern over time,and/or moving the eyebrows of the depicted avatar 258-1 within thesticker 256 through a third repeating pattern over time where the first,second, and third repeating pattern is the same or different. That is,they may have different numbers of independent positions that are cycledthrough, and on different timing schedules (e.g., each independentposition of the first repeating pattern may be rendered in the sticker256 for a different amount of time than each independent position of thesecond repeating pattern).

Referring to block 632 of FIG. 6D, in some embodiments the alteredversion 258 of the first avatar is rendered dynamic within the sticker(e.g., within the sticker) by any combination of: varying a position ofthe avatar in the sticker over time, varying a scale of the alteredversion 258 of the first avatar in the sticker over time, or moving abody part of the altered version 258 of the first avatar in the stickerover time.

Referring to block 634 of FIG. 6D, in some embodiments the first avatar238 is rendered dynamic within the sticker (e.g., within the sticker) byat least moving one or more body parts of the altered version 258 of thefirst avatar in the sticker over time. the one or more body parts isselected from the group consisting of the arms, the feet, the legs, thehands, the neck, or the head of the altered version 258 of the firstavatar.

Referring to block 636 of FIG. 6E, in some embodiments the clientapplication 236 provides at a time after the selection of the firstelectronic communication 252, a first affordance (e.g., a check box, aradio button, a slide bar, an input field, a radio button, a drop-downmenu, a shopping cart, etc.). Selection of the first affordance by thefirst user 340 displays a first tool for selection from a plurality ofavatars other than the first avatar 238. Each avatar in the plurality ofavatars is associated with a different user in a contact list 250 of thefirst user 340 within the application. Responsive to receiving aselection of one or more second avatars from the plurality of avatars,the client application 236 compiles the one or more second avatars intothe sticker 256. Referring to block 638 of FIG. 6E, in some embodiments,the client application 236 provides, at a time after the selection ofthe first electronic communication 252, a second affordance (e.g., acheck box, a radio button, a slide bar, an input field, a radio button,a drop-down menu, a shopping cart, etc.). Selection of the secondaffordance by the first user 340 displays a second tool for annotatingthe sticker with a user provided expression encapsulated in a bubble268.

Referring to block 640 of FIG. 6E, in some embodiments, the clientapplication 236 provides, at a time after the selection of the firstelectronic communication 252, a first affordance and a second affordance(e.g., a check box, a radio button, a slide bar, an input field, a radiobutton, a drop-down menu, a shopping cart, etc.). Selection of the firstaffordance by the first user 340 displays a first tool for selectionfrom a plurality of avatars other than the first avatar. Each avatar 238in the plurality of avatars is associated with a different user 340 in acontact list 250 of the first user 340 within the application or anenumerated list of avatars provided by the application. Each avatar inthe enumerated list of avatars represents a different public figure.Responsive to receiving a selection of one or more second avatars fromthe plurality of avatars, the network communication module 234 compilesthe one or more second avatars from the plurality of avatars into thesticker 256. Selection of the second affordance by the first user 340displays a second tool for annotating the sticker with a first user 340provided expression encapsulated in a bubble 268.

Referring to block 642 of FIG. 6F, in some embodiments, networkcommunication module 234 provide a first affordance at a time after theselection of the first electronic communication 252. User selection ofthe affordance displays a first tool for selection from a plurality ofsecond avatars 238 other than the first avatar. Each second avatar inthe plurality of avatars is associated with a different user 340 in acontact list 250 of the first user 340 within the application or anenumerated list of avatars provided by the application. Each avatar inthe enumerated list of avatars represents a different public figure.Responsive to receiving a selection of one or more second avatars fromthe plurality of avatars by the first user 340, the client application236 compiles the one or more second avatars from the plurality ofavatars into the sticker 256. The forming further comprises concurrentlydisplaying the altered version 258 of the first avatar, the one or moreselected second avatars, and an emotion slide bar on the display. Firstuser 340 selection of each different portion of the emotion slide barprovides a different emotion on the altered version 258 of the firstavatar and the one or more selected second avatars from a discrete setof emotions. An example of this is illustrated in FIG. 16. First userselection of each different portion 1602 of the emotion slide bar 1602displays a different emotion on the altered version 258 of the firstavatar and each second avatar in the one or more second avatars from adiscrete set of emotions. Responsive to receiving a user swipe of theemotion slide bar 1602, the emotion displayed on the altered version 258of the first avatar and the one or more selected second avatars ischanged to the emotion associated with the different portion 1604 of theemotion slide bar 1602 in which the user swipe ended.

Referring to block 644 of FIG. 6F, in some embodiments the firstelectronic communication 252 is a news article received from a remotepublication source. For instance, in some embodiments the remotepublication source is CABLE NEWS NETWORK (CNN), FOX NEWS, REUTERS, orthe ASSOCIATED PRESS and the news article is published by one of theseremote publication sources over communication network 104.

Referring to block 646 of FIG. 6F, in some embodiments the clientapplication 236 provides a first affordance (e.g., a check box, a radiobutton, a slide bar, an input field, a radio button, a drop-down menu, ashopping cart, etc.) at a time after the selection of the firstelectronic communication 252. Selection of the first affordance by theuser 340 displays a tool for modifying the sticker 256. The modifyingthe sticker 256 in accordance with block 646 comprises adding a quotebubble 268, provided by the first user, to the sticker using the firstaffordance, adding the avatar of one or more friends of the first user340, and designated by the first user 340 through the first affordance,to the sticker, changing the expression on each avatar in the stickerusing the first affordance, adding or removing a prop 262 or backgroundscene 266 to the sticker 256 using the affordance, changing an articleof clothing worn by an avatar in the sticker using the affordance,repositioning or rescaling a layer that includes props 262 /backgrounds266/clothing using the affordance, changing the bone position of anavatar in the sticker using the first affordance, and/or changing aheadline 270 of the sticker using the first affordance.

In some embodiments, the modifying the sticker 256 in accordance withblock 646 comprises associating a sound construct 260, selected by thefirst user, to the sticker 256. In some embodiments, the sound construct260 is sound recorded by the first user, such as a recorded message madeby the first user. In some embodiments, the sound construct 260 is lessthan three seconds, less than 10 seconds, less than 30 seconds, lessthan one minute or less than 5 minutes of sound recorded in anuncompressed audio format, pulse-code modulation (PCM) format, waveformaudio file (WAV) format, audio interchange file format (AIFF),MPEG-Audio Layer 3 (MP3) format, advanced audio coding (AAC) format, OGG(Vorbis) format, WINDOWS media audio (WMA) format, free lossless audio(FLAC) format, APPLE lossless audio codec (ALAC) format, WINDOWS mediaaudio (WMA) format, or some other format. In some embodiments, the soundconstruct is a song or a part of a song. In some embodiments, the soundconstruct 260 comprises a sound effect, such as horns blowing, a crowdcheering, a crowd booing, or person crying, or a person laughing, etc.

In some embodiments, the modifying the sticker 256 in accordance withblock 646 comprises adding or removing a prop 262 to the sticker usingthe affordance. For instance, FIG. 15 illustrates a prop 262 in thesticker 256. Non-limiting examples of props 262 a user can use to modifythe sticker in accordance with block 446 includes furniture, tools,flags, balloons, signs, crosses, weapons, garbage cans, animals, cages,or other objects. In some embodiments, the user selects the prop 262 forinclusion in the sticker 256 from a stock panel of props offered byclient application 236. In some embodiments, the user is able to addtheir own props 262 the stock panel of props offered by clientapplication 236 for inclusion in the sticker 256 in accordance withblock 446.

In some embodiments, the modifying the sticker 256 in accordance withblock 646 comprises adding a background scene 266 to the sticker 256using the affordance. FIG. 15 illustrates one such background scene 266,which is highlighted with a dotted line (which is not part of thesticker 256). The background scene 266 of FIG. 15, by way ofillustration, includes birds being targeted with guns.

In some embodiments, the modifying the sticker 256 in accordance withblock 646 comprises adding and/or changing a headline 270 of the stickerusing the first affordance. FIG. 15 illustrates a headline 270. If theuser does not edit the headline 270, the headline 270 is the stickerprovided in the original default electronic communication 252 that theuser selected at the outset.

Server implementations and bridge tool. Referring to FIG. 7, a serverimplementation bridge tool in accordance with some aspects of thepresent disclosure is provided. In some embodiments, the serverimplementation bridge tool is a component of application server module108 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3.

Referring to block 702, this aspect of the present disclosure provides amethod of customizing avatars 238 responsive to a plurality of events inwhich a first event in the plurality of events is received. Referring toblock 704, in some embodiments, the first event is a news articlereceived from a remote publication source. Referring to block 706 ofFIG. 7A, in some embodiments, a first topical category 248 is determinedfor the first event from among a plurality of topical categories. Then,referring to block 708, a plurality of assets is obtained responsive tothe first event. The plurality of assets determines a position on afirst avatar 238 in a scene over time. The first avatar 238 isassociated with a first user 340 that has designated an interest in thefirst topical category 248.

In response to an event, described in an electronic communication 252, adesigner, illustrator, and/or animator operating in conjunction withserver system 106 can design a sticker 256 that describes the event. Forinstance, consider the hypothetical event in which TWITTER stock plungesand that TWITTER stockholders have begun to retaliate. A designer,illustrator, and/or animator builds a sticker 256 that includesbackground 266 illustrated in FIG. 15, that is blue birds representingTWITTER being shot at. This sticker can then be imported into a the“Scene Builder” bridge tool 1902 illustrated in FIG. 19. In someembodiments, the initial template sticker 256 designed by a designer,illustrator, and/or animator in response to an electronic communication252 concerning an event is designed in a commercial application such asADOBE PHOTOSHOP. Regardless of its originating source, all the assetsassociated with the designed sticker 256 made responsive to the event inthe electronic communication 252 are imported into the scene buildermodule 1902 for further modification by a designer, illustrator, and/oranimator before sending the final product to an end client user as asticker for the end client user to then modify and share with selectcontacts of the end client user.

In some embodiments, the assets associated with the designed sticker 256made responsive to the event in the electronic communication 252 thatare imported into the Scene Builder 1902 constitute a plurality oflayers. Advantageously, the scene builder module allows a user torearrange or adjust each of the assets. For instance, affordances X1904, Y 1904, and Z 1906 respectively allow a user to independentlyposition assets relative to each other along the X, Y, and Z Cartesianaxes of the scene. Affordance 1908 allows the designer to independentlyscale each of the assets to different sizes within the scene, whileaffordance 1910 allows the designer to independently rotate each of theassets with respect to the overall scene. Affordances 1912, 1914, 1916,and 1918 respectively allow the designer to promote an asset forwardrelative to other assets, send an asset backward relative to otherassets, bring an asset to the front before all other assets, and send anasset to the back behind all other assets. In some embodiments, a layeris a sprite sheet animation. A sprite sheet is a bitmap image file thatcontains several smaller graphics in a tiled grid arrangement. Bycompiling several graphics into a single data construct, the sticker,the enable animation of the layer in other applications that receive thesticker.

Advantageously, the bridge tool 1902 allows the designer to designatewhich layers within a sticker 256 will be visible to which users. Thisis useful, for instance, for customizing the sticker 256 in a genderspecific manner. For instance, for each layer, the designer candesignate permissions such as “show this layer to all our users,” showthis layer to male users, “show this layer to female users.” This allowsthe designer to use bridge tool 1902 to have each user wear customclothes, for instance the designer will make a male shirt in a layerthat is only visible to male users, a female shirt in a layer that isonly visible to female user, and so forth.

Advantageously further, the bridge tool 1902 can be used to tint alayer. Consider the case where the designer wants a sticker 256 wherethe altered avatar 258 has comically large hands. The designer can drawhands (or import an asset depicting hands) that are not part of theavatar's original hands. The designer then matches the user's avatar'sskin colors, to tint the new hands to the user's skin color. The bridgetool 1902, or software working in conjunction with the bridge tool 1902then, creates the sticker 256 containing the altered avatar 258 with alayer of tinting and then gender.

Panels 1920 “User Avatar” and 1922 “Friend Avatar” allow the designer toinput the data from a commercial software package to position an avatar238 to thereby form altered avatar 258. For instance, the designer canuse panels 1920 and 1922 to adjust avatar body positions (e.g., placethe avatar's arm up, place the avatar's leg up, etc.) The designer,illustrator, and/or animator can also upload other assets to do somefacial modification. The designer, illustrator, and/or animator can alsoupload full avatar body movement/animations.

Expression options panel 1924 of the bridge tool 1902 allows the user toanimate avatar facial expressions. Because very fast turnaround isneeded between event notification and electronic communicationdistribution 252 with stickers 256 highly specific, but focused,animation tools are provided in some embodiments. Consider the casewhere the designer, response to an event, is designing a first sticker256 where the altered avatar 258 is holding a golf club and the designeris designing a second sticker 256 where the altered avatar is holding abaseball bat. In both stickers 256 an animated expression may bedesired: in the golf club sticker the designer wants to convey a facelooking downwards whereas in the baseball sticker the designer wants toconvey a face looking upwards. Advantageously, to support this type ofavatar alteration, the disclosed systems and methods provide a libraryof animated expressions. In some embodiments there are more than 100versions of each expression. The designer picks from among theseexpressions, which are accessed through panel 1924. For instance, asillustrated in panel 1924, the designer can quickly set which directionthe altered avatar 258 eyes are focused, whether the eyes are blinking,mouth movement and face perspective. Thus, the designer can use panel1924 to designate whether the pupils of the altered avatar 258 are tomove or to be fixed. The designer can use panel 1924 to designatewhether the eyes of the altered avatar 258 are to be able to blink ornot. The designer can use panel 1924 to designate whether the mouth ofthe altered avatar 258 is to move or not. The designer can use panel1924 to designate whether the face of the altered avatar 258 is to moveor not. Further, the designer can use affordance 1926 to pick an actualexpression from a library of expressions.

Furthermore, the bridge tool 1902 provides body presets 1928. Considerthe case where the designer wants the altered avatar 258 to beparasailing in response to an event or to be in a spacesuit in responseto an event. In such instances, body presets 1928 are invoked to insertonly portions of the altered avatar 258 into a sticker 256 (e.g.,“insert only the head” of the actual avatar into the sticker 256). Thenthe designer can just add a layer that includes a spacesuit. In thisway, the avatar appears to be in a spacesuit. Likewise, body presets1928 of bridge tool 1902 has presets for avatars without legs. This isuseful in situations where the designer, for example, wants the alteredavatar that will be appearing in a sticker 256 to be skates. In such aninstance, the designer would make a gendered, painted asset, and thenput on a legless avatar body to the asset in order to form a sticker 256that conveys the image of an avatar on skates.

Thus, the bridge tool 1902 allows a designer to develop a sticker 256for each user event possible. In some embodiments, the bridge tool 1902provides over 3 million different avatar combinations. The bridge tool1902 serves as a way to acquire assets from commercial packages thatserve as the props 262, foreground elements 264, and background 266 ofscenes. Moreover, the bridge tool 1902 allows for the rearrangement,scaling, and coloring of these components, and to determine which clientuser stickers 256 get which components (e.g., as in the gender examplediscussed above). One of the assets acquired is the base avatar 238 ofeach prospective client user. This base avatar 238 is then modifiedusing the bridge tool 1902 to form the altered avatar 258 that appearsto be reacting to the event associated with an electronic communication252. The bridge tool is advantageously in the form of a computer graphicinterface because designers prefer to work visually rather thanprogrammatically. FIGS. 20 and 21 illustrate example animated stickersin accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure.

As such, the bridge tool 1902 enhances a work flow in which a news orother form of event breaks. When this occurs, a brief writer, within 10to 15 minutes, writes up a description almost like a director on whatthe brief write thinks the sticker describing the event should looklike. Then, a designer/illustrator makes the sticker and mocks it up,sketched it out within an hour. The designer can use the bridge tool1902 tool once the sticker 256 is ready to be sent out to users so thatsuch users can get the electronic communication 252 conveying the eventand the proposed sticker 256 that shows the altered avatar 258 reactingto the event, within their respective client applications 236. In someembodiments, this entire work flow occurs within an hour or two of thebreaking of the event.

Thus, consider the case where there are 100 client users that are allinterested in the Golden State Warriors. Consider further that theWarriors win a game. It is determined that this is newsworthy. So, asummary of the game is made and the disclosed systems and methods areused to communicate this to the 100 relevant users. As such, a stickeris designed that conveys the Warriors winning, and then for eachrespective user of the 100 users, the respective user's avatar 238 ismodified and incorporated, as an altered avatar 258, into the sticker256 received by that user in conjunction with a headline in the stickerconveying that the Warriors won the game, where the altered avatar showstheir favorable reaction to their favorite team winning a game. Theavatars for those 100 people are all different, so the disclosed systemsand methods must pull up each of the 100 different default avatars andchange their expression in the manner specified by the bridge tool 1902in order to form the 100 different stickers for the 100 different users.This scale is merely exemplary. In fact, in more typical instances,there are 1000 or more different targeted users for a given electroniccommunication, each requiring a unique sticker 256 using the disclosedtechniques, there are 10,000 or more different targeted users for agiven electronic communication, each requiring a unique sticker 256using the disclosed techniques, 100,000 or more different targeted usersfor a given electronic communication, each requiring a unique sticker256 using the disclosed techniques, or 1,000,000 or more differenttargeted users for a given electronic communication, each requiring aunique sticker 256 using the disclosed techniques. Thus, the disclosedsystems and methods take what a designer has implemented through thebridge tool 1902 and outputs hundreds, thousand, tens of thousands, ormillions of different stickers, one for each client user.

Thus, in typical embodiments, the bridge tool 1902 is focused on thecomponent of an avatar 238 that have to do with expression, but doesn'thave to do with hair color or skin color or all the other things thatare coded in the base avatar 238 that were set up by the user, using forexample the processes outlined in FIGS. 9 through 12. In typicalembodiments, the bridge tool 1902 modifies avatar body position, agender layer, a tint layer, expression, or body presets. Thus, forexample, consider the case where the Incredible Hulk has a new moviecoming out and it is contemplated that a lot of stickers about theIncredible Hulk will be needed. An Incredible Hulk Body Preset can beadded to bridge tool 1902 component 1928 that will take any user'savatar's skin color, whatever it is, and turn it green. So the designerin this tool, using Body Presets 1928, selects the Incredible Hulk bodypreset and the avatar 238 of every single user gets the selected bodyPreset: e.g., the body preset could constitute an added big nose, smallnose, whatever, with the skin color turned green in forming the sticker256 that includes the altered avatar 258 showing that user's avatarreacting an electronic communication pertaining to the Incredible Hulkmovie. Thus, advantageously, the bridge tool 1902 can be used to specifyseveral different things about the avatar that then get globallyprocessed against many, many, many unique avatars that were each createdby a user. As such, the designer does not have to go in and changeeverybody's avatar manually. They use the bridge tool 1902 to justchange a unique set of features that are applied to each avatar 238 tothereby form the unique avatars 258 responsive to an event that are inthe stickers 256. In some embodiments, the avatar 238 is put into asticker verbatim, e.g., with no changes. More typically, the bridge tool1902 is used to form altered avatars in which, for example, to hats havebeen put on them or wigs on them (e.g., to represent Donald Trump)clothing has been changes, etc.

In this way, the client application 236 is self-promoting in the sensethat it is going to strike a chord with some client users—the alteredavatar that comes out—and they will laugh and see themselves with thisquite unique expression that is unique in that it is what their reactionwould have been themselves as a person to an event. And then they willshare it with other users. The ability to include the altered avatar ofa friend just adds to the uniqueness of the sticker 256 that is derived.Further, the ability of the user to add a message in a bubble to thesticker 256 adds to the uniqueness of the sticker 256 that is derivedfor an event. As such, the discloses systems and methods are combining(1) a user's chosen avatar 238 for themselves coupled with a designer'smodifications in reaction to something newsworthy, that newsworthy thingbeing something that the user themselves said was a category that theywould interested in. Further, the user can add a friend or not add afriend. Further, the user can add a bubble or not add or not add abubble message. The user can then share the sticker 256 with people on atimely basis in reaction to the news or other types of events.

Accordingly, in some embodiments the first avatar 238 is obtained from auser profile associated with the first user. Then, referring to block712, a sticker 256 is formed comprising an altered version 258 of thefirst avatar. The altered version 258 of the first avatar comprises: (i)one or more visible layers that are present in the first avatar 238 and(ii) one or more visible layers that are not present in the first avatarand that include all or a portion of the plurality of assets therebyforming a sticker 256. Referring to block 714, in some embodiments theone or more visible layers that are not present in the first avatar 238comprises a gender layer 244 that customizes the altered version 258 ofthe first avatar in accordance with a gender of the first user 340.Referring to block 716, in some embodiments, the one or more visiblelayers not present in the first avatar 238 and that include all or aportion of the plurality of assets comprises one or more assets that aretinted to a skin color of the first avatar 238 that is specified in theuser profile 246 associated with the first user 340. Referring to block718, in some embodiments the forming specifies the Cartesian coordinatesof a body part of the first avatar 238 in a background scene 266 overtime. Referring to block 720, in some embodiments, the body part is atorso, a hand, a finger, a thumb, a pelvis, a foot, a leg, or an arm ofthe first avatar 238.

Referring to block 722, in some embodiments, the altered version 258 ofthe first avatar includes a pair of eyes, a pair of eyelids, a set oflips, and a pair of eyebrows. The altered version 258 of the firstavatar is rendered dynamic within the sticker 256 by relative movementof the pair of eyes, the pair of eyelids, the set of lips and the pairof eyebrows with respect to the altered version 258 of the first avatarthrough a repeating pattern of expressions over time.

Referring to block 724, in some embodiments, the altered version 258 ofthe first avatar is rendered dynamic within the sticker 256 by anycombination of: varying an amount of facial bone deformation, varying apupil size, varying eyelid position, varying an eye size, varying pupilposition, varying mouth position, varying nose position, varying earposition, varying a mouth size, or varying a face perspective in thealtered version 258 of the first avatar, thereby effecting a repeatingpattern of expressions over time.

Referring to block 726, in some embodiments, the altered version 258 ofthe first avatar is rendered dynamic within the sticker 256 by anycombination of: varying a position of the altered version 258 of thefirst avatar in the sticker 256 over time, varying a scale of thealtered version 258 of the first avatar in the sticker 256 over time, ormoving a body part of the altered version 258 of the first avatar in thesticker 256 over time.

Referring to block 728, in some embodiments, the altered version 258 ofthe first avatar is rendered dynamic within the sticker 256 by at leastmoving one or more body parts of the altered version 258 of the firstavatar in the sticker 256 over time, where the one or more body parts isselected from the group consisting of the arms, the feet, the legs, thehands, the neck, or the head of the altered version 258 of the firstavatar.

Referring to block 730, in some embodiments, the sticker 256 is providedto the first user along with a first electronic communication 252 thatdescribes the first event.

Referring to block 732, in some embodiments, the method furthercomprises previewing the sticker 256 prior to providing the sticker 256to the first user (e.g., using the bridge tool 1902).

Referring to block 733, in some embodiments, the obtaining 710, forming712, and providing 730 is performed for each respective user in aplurality of users that has user that has designated an interest in thefirst topical category 248. For instance, referring to block 736, insome embodiments, more than 1000 users, more than 10,000 users, or morethan 100,000 users have designated an interest in the first topicalcategory 248.

Referring to block 733, in some embodiments the receiving of block 702,the determining of block 706, the obtaining of block 708, the obtainingof block 710, the forming of block 712, and the providing of block 730is performed for a second event in the plurality of events, where thesecond event has a different topical category 248 than the first event.

The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has beendescribed with reference to specific embodiments. However, theillustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or tolimit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modificationsand variations are possible in view of the above teachings. Theembodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and its practical applications, to therebyenable others skilled in the art to best use the invention and variousdescribed embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

1. A method of customizing a first avatar responsive to an event, themethod comprising: in accordance with an application on a firstelectronic device associated with a first user, wherein the applicationincludes a first avatar representing the first user, the firstelectronic device comprising one or more processors, memory, and adisplay: receiving a selection of one or more topical categories from anenumerated plurality of topical categories; associating the one or moretopical categories with the first avatar; receiving a selection of afirst electronic communication within the application, wherein theselection is made by the first user and wherein the first electroniccommunication is received by the first user in the application, thefirst electronic communication being classified into a topical categoryin the one or more topical categories and describing the event; forminga sticker comprising the first avatar reacting to the first electroniccommunication, wherein the first avatar is rendered dynamic in thesticker; and providing the sticker to one or more other users using theapplication.
 2. The method of claim 1, the method further comprisingcustomizing the first avatar prior to selection of the first electroniccommunication, wherein the customizing comprises: concurrentlydisplaying the first avatar and a first composer graphic on the display,wherein each different portion of the first composer graphic provides adifferent value for a first trait associated with the first composergraphic, and wherein the first avatar includes a face comprising a pairof eyes, a nose, and a set of lips, and wherein the customizing furthercomprises executing a first procedure comprising: (i) displaying on thefirst avatar the first trait, set at a value associated with arespective portion of the first composer graphic selected by the firstuser without user intervention responsive to the user selection of therespective portion of the first composer graphic, (ii) repeating thedisplaying (i) for each portion of the first composer graphic contactedby the first user until a first break in user contact with the firstcomposer graphic is detected, wherein the repeating occurs at least onetime, and (iii) associating the value of the first trait with the firstavatar that is associated with the portion of the first composer graphicthat was last contacted by the first user when the first break wasdetected, wherein the associating displays on the first avatar the firsttrait set at the value of the first trait associated with the portion ofthe first composer graphic that was last contacted by the first userwhen the first break was detected.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein thefirst trait is one of hair style, ear size, skin color, head shape, eyepupil color, eye pupil size, eye size, rotation of the eyes, height ofthe eyes on the face, distance between the eyes, ear style, ear size,hair style, hair color, amount of face wrinkles, an amount of cheekindents/dimples, an amount of face pimples, stomach thickness, overallbody height, arm length, leg length, foot size, facial hair style,facial hair color, eyebrow length, eyebrow color, eyebrow height, athickness of eyelashes, an eyelash color, an eyelash length, a nosestyle, a nose size, a height of the nose on the face, a mouth size, amouth shape, a height of the mouth on the face, a teeth style, a teethsize, a teeth color, a lip style, a lip size, a lip color, absence orpresence of a facial blush, absence or presence of an eyeshadow, an eyeshadow color, a shirt style, a vest style, a jacket style, a dressstyle, a skirt style, a pant style, an eye glass style, a hat style, anearphone style, a necklace style, a pair of earrings style, a watchstyle, a bracelet style, a scarf style, or a mask style.
 4. The methodof claim 1, the method further comprising customizing the first avatarprior to selection of the first electronic communication, wherein thecustomizing comprises: receiving a specification of the gender of thefirst avatar from the first user; and including a gender layer on thefirst avatar, from the set of male gender and female gender, responsiveto the specification of gender from the first user.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the first electronic communication is selected fromamong a plurality of electronic communications by the first user, andeach electronic communication in the plurality of electroniccommunications is associated with a category in the one or more topicalcategories.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein each respectivecommunication in the plurality of electronic communications includes adifferent corresponding instance of the first avatar customized for therespective communication by addition of one or more layers not presentin the first avatar.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the forming thesticker comprises concurrently displaying the first avatar and anemotion slide bar on the display, first user selection of each differentportion of the emotion slide bar displays a different emotion on thefirst avatar from a discrete set of emotions, and responsive toreceiving a user swipe of the emotion slide bar, the different emotiondisplayed on the first avatar is changed to the emotion associated withthe different portion of the emotion slide bar in which the user swipeended.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first avatar includes apair of eyes, a nose, and a set of lips, a pair of eyebrows, a pair ofears, and a body, and each respective emotion in the discrete set ofemotions specifies at least a first characteristic position for the setof lips of the first avatar and a second characteristic position for thepair of eyebrows of the first avatar.
 9. The method of claim 1, themethod further comprising: providing, at a time after the selection ofthe first electronic communication, a first affordance, whereinselection of the first affordance by the first user displays a firsttool for selection from a plurality of second avatars other than thefirst avatar, wherein each second avatar in the plurality of secondavatars is associated with a different user in a contact list of thefirst user within the application or an enumerated list of avatarsprovided by the application wherein each avatar in the enumerated listof avatars represents a different public figure; and responsive toreceiving a selection of one or more second avatars from the pluralityof second avatars, compiling the one or more second avatars into thesticker.
 10. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:providing, at a time after the selection of the first electroniccommunication, a first affordance, wherein selection of the firstaffordance by the first user displays a first tool for annotating thesticker with a first user provided expression encapsulated in a bubble.11. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:providing, at a time after the selection of the first electroniccommunication, a first affordance and a second affordance, whereinselection of the first affordance by the first user displays a firsttool for selection from a plurality of second avatars other than thefirst avatar, wherein each second avatar in the plurality of secondavatars is associated with a different user in a contact list of thefirst user within the application or an enumerated list of avatarsprovided by the application wherein each avatar in the enumerated listof avatars represents a different public figure, and responsive toreceiving a selection of one or more second avatars from the pluralityof second avatars, compiling the one or more second avatars from theplurality of avatars into the sticker; and selection of the secondaffordance by the first user displays a second tool for annotating thesticker with a first user provided expression encapsulated in a bubble.12. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:providing, at a time after the selection of the first electroniccommunication, a first affordance, wherein selection of the firstaffordance by the first user displays a first tool for selection from aplurality of second avatars other than the first avatar, wherein eachsecond avatar in the plurality of second avatars is associated with adifferent user in a contact list of the first user within theapplication or an enumerated list of avatars provided by the applicationwherein each avatar in the enumerated list of avatars represents adifferent public figure and responsive to receiving a selection of oneor more second avatars from the plurality of second avatars, compilingthe one or more second avatars from the plurality of avatars into thesticker; and the forming further comprises concurrently displaying thefirst avatar, the one or more selected second avatars, and an emotionslide bar on the display, wherein first user selection of each differentportion of the emotion slide bar provides a different emotion on thefirst avatar and each second avatar in the one or more second avatars inthe sticker from a discrete set of emotions, and responsive to receivinga user swipe of the emotion slide bar, the emotion displayed on thefirst avatar and the one or more selected second avatars in the stickeris changed to the emotion associated with the different portion of theemotion slide bar in which the user swipe ended.
 13. The method of claim1, wherein the first electronic communication is a news article receivedfrom a remote publication source.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein thefirst avatar includes a pair of eyes, a pair of eyelids, a set of lips,and a pair of eyebrows, and the first avatar is rendered dynamic withinthe sticker by relative movement of the pair of eyes, the pair ofeyelids, the set of lips and the pair of eyebrows of the first avatarthrough a repeating pattern of expressions of the first avatar overtime.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the first avatar is rendereddynamic within the sticker by any combination of: varying an amount offacial bone deformation in the first avatar over time, varying a pupilsize in the first avatar over time, varying eyelid position in the firstavatar over time, varying an eye size in the first avatar over time,varying pupil position in the first avatar over time, varying mouthposition in the first avatar over time, varying nose position in thefirst avatar over time, varying ear position in the first avatar overtime, varying a mouth size in the first avatar over time, varying a faceperspective in the first avatar over time, varying a position of thefirst avatar in the sticker over time, varying a scale of the firstavatar in the sticker over time, or moving a body part of the firstavatar in the sticker over time.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein thefirst avatar is rendered dynamic within the sticker by at least movingone or more body parts of the first avatar in the sticker over time, andthe one or more body parts is selected from the group consisting of thearms, the feet, the legs, the hands, the neck, or the head of the firstavatar.
 17. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:providing, at a time after the selection of the first electroniccommunication, a first affordance, wherein selection of the firstaffordance by the first user displays a first tool for modifying thesticker, wherein the modifying the sticker comprises: adding a quotebubble, provided by the first user, to the sticker using the firstaffordance, associating a sound construct, selected by the first user,to the sticker using the first affordance, adding the avatar of one ormore friends of the first user, and designated by the first user throughthe first affordance, to the sticker, changing the expression on eachavatar in the sticker using the first affordance, adding, removing oranimating a prop or background scene to the sticker using theaffordance, changing an article of clothing worn by an avatar in thesticker using the affordance, repositioning or rescaling a layer thatincludes props/backgrounds/clothing using the affordance, changing thebone position of an avatar in the sticker using the first affordance,changing a headline of the sticker using the first affordance, or addingor changing an animation of an avatar in the sticker using the firstaffordance.
 18. The method of claim 1, wherein the method furthercomprises: adding a quote bubble, provided by an entity other than theapplication or the first user, to the sticker, associating a soundconstruct, provided by an entity other than the application or the firstuser, to the sticker, or adding or removing a prop or background scene,provided by an entity other than the application or the first user. 19.The method of claim 1, wherein the sticker is provided to the one ormore other users without the first electronic communication.
 20. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the sticker is provided to the one or moreother users with the first electronic communication.
 21. A computersystem for customizing a first avatar responsive to an event in anapplication having a first avatar representing a first user, thecomputer system comprising at least one processor, a display, and memorystoring at least one program for execution by the at least oneprocessor, the at least one program comprising instructions for:receiving a selection of one or more topical categories from anenumerated plurality of topical categories; associating the one or moretopical categories with the first avatar; receiving a selection of afirst electronic communication within the application, wherein theselection is made by the first user, and wherein the first electroniccommunication is received by the first user in the application, isassociated with a topical category in the one or more topicalcategories, and describes the event; forming a sticker comprising thefirst avatar reacting to the first electronic communication, wherein thefirst avatar is rendered dynamic in the sticker; and providing thesticker to one or more other users.
 22. The computer system of claim 21,wherein the sticker is provided to the one or more other users withoutthe first electronic communication.
 23. The computer system of claim 21,wherein the sticker is provided to the one or more other users with thefirst electronic communication.
 24. A non-transitory computer readablestorage medium storing an application having a first avatar representinga first user, the application comprising instructions for: receiving aselection of one or more topical categories from an enumerated pluralityof topical categories; associating the one or more topical categorieswith the first avatar; receiving a selection of a first electroniccommunication within the application made by the first user, wherein thefirst electronic communication is received by the first user in theapplication, the first electronic communication is classified into atopical category in the one or more topical categories, and describesthe event; forming a sticker comprising the first avatar reacting to thefirst electronic communication, wherein the first avatar is rendereddynamic in the sticker; and providing the sticker to one or more otherusers, wherein each respective other user in the one or more other usersis associated with a corresponding instance of the application on acorresponding electronic device associated with the respective user. 25.The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 24, whereinthe sticker is provided to the one or more other users without the firstelectronic communication.
 26. The non-transitory computer readablestorage medium of claim 24, wherein the sticker is provided to the oneor more other users with the first electronic communication.
 27. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the first avatar comprises a plurality oflayers and wherein the first avatar in the sticker is altered to includeone or more additional visible layers.
 28. The computer system of claim21, wherein the first avatar comprises a plurality of layers and whereinthe first avatar in the sticker is altered to include one or moreadditional visible layers.
 29. The non-transitory computer readablestorage medium of claim 24, wherein the first avatar comprises aplurality of layers and wherein the first avatar in the sticker isaltered to include one or more additional visible layers.
 30. The methodof claim 1 wherein the sticker includes a background scene, wherein thebackground scene is responsive to the event.